


Evan's House for Everyone

by Jade_Wonderlicious_221



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Confusion, Domestic Discipline, Edit of original, Family, Family fun, Fun, Hurt, Kidnapping, Love, Much better this time, Murder, Mystery, Non-Consensual Spanking, One Big Happy Family, Re-write, Romance, Teens, adopted family, hope you enjoy!, lots of love, pyromaniac
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 11:52:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 88,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5827588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade_Wonderlicious_221/pseuds/Jade_Wonderlicious_221
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Original story about a group home. Not exactly like the ones today or whatever, but this is fiction people. Mandy's parents die in their house fire while she is at a friend's house, then ends up staying at Evans House for Everyone, a group home. About her and the other kids and teens life there. And also figuring out whether Mandy's parent's death was an accident. Or not.</p><p>WARNING:  Swearing, Violence, and there is also domestic discipline in this story in the form of spanking and mouth soaping. Used only for discipline and in the right terms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! It's been, well, I don't know exactly how long, but it's been a long time since I've posted here, huh? I've moved websites and I'm much more active on Wattpad now. I felt I should add my stories from Wattpad to here though, just for a friend of mine. :) Hope you enjoy the new and improved Evan's House for Everyone!

Anastasia Hendricks sat at her dining room table at one in the morning. Her husband and her daughter were both asleep by now, so it was the perfect time to do it. She had brought her laptop downstairs and gotten to work, writing her will. Anastasia Hendricks, was writing her will at age 24. She wasn't sick, she wasn't hurt, she wasn't going to die soon. Or so she hoped. Her phone vibrated again, sounding extremely loud on the wooden table. She jumped and looked at her phone, finding a text message from _him_  again.

That's right. Prepare yourself Anastasia, because I will follow through, but if you change your mind I might not follow through.-G

She gulped and texted back, her hands shaking.

Are you watching me? You're such a creep! Leave me alone! And no I will never change my mind!

;) I doubt that. -G

She sighed and blocked the number with a scowl. She didn't get any other messages or calls tonight, thank goodness for that. She had just finished saving her will and putting it in a safe place when the hallway light came on.

"Mommy?"

Anastasia turned to see her six year old daughter standing there, in her pink and purple striped PJ's, and holding one of her stuffed foxes in her arm.

"Sweetheart, go back to bed. It's very late."

"I can't sleep. Will you sleep with me?"

Anastasia smiled. "Just for tonight though, okay? After this, you have to be a big girl and sleep by yourself okay? You have all your foxes protecting you after all."

The little girl smiled. "Okay Mommy."

The next morning, Anastasia dropped off her daughter at school and then went to work with her husband Steve. The day passed normally, and she seemed fine to everyone else, except her husband.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine." She said as she drove them back to the school to pick up their daughter.

"No, you're not." He sighed. "What is it? You can tell me."

"I've just got a really bad headache, alright? Steve, I said I was fine and I am."

"Okay, do you want to stop at the store and pick up some aspirin?"

"That would be a good idea, since we have to go grocery shopping anyway."

The couple picked up their daughter and headed to the grocery store. They got everything they needed that was on their list and got in line, surprised that the line wasn't as long as they had expected.

"Oh no, Steve, I forgot the chips. Can you go grab those?" Anastasia asked as she looked over her list.

"Sure honey, I'll be right back."

Their little girl stood next to her. "Mommy I'm bored."

"Don't worry sweetie, we'll be home soon."

The child pouted. "But then I'll have homework!"

Anastasia sighed. "Look, the more time you spend complaining, the longer you avoid getting home and doing your homework. And the longer you avoid your homework, the more bad it will seem." She said. "Don't give me that look. This is your warning."

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"Good girl, thank you."

"Where's Daddy? He has to hurry!"

"And why is that?"

"Cause we need to go home, finish my homework really fast so we can make it to Emily's birthday party!" She said, jumping up and down in excitement.

Anastasia chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll be there on time! And if you help Mommy and Daddy, the time before the party will be gone before you know it!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

G. had been at the grocery store, just walking to one of the lines, only here to pick up some beer and wine when someone bumped into him from behind. He turned with a glare. "Watch it!" He snapped.

A little girl stood behind him, looking to be about six years old. She had brown eyes, her hair up in pigtails, and wore a navy plaid skirt with a light blue polo shirt, a navy plaid vest and black buckled shoes with lacy white socks. She frowned at what he said. "Sorry mister!" She said quickly, and then hid behind her mother's skirt.

"Sorry about that." Her mother chuckled. "We're going to a birthday party after this, we just had to pick up a few snacks, and she's very excited. Aren't you?"

The little girl peeked out and nodded. "Uh-huh!"

G. had been distracted by the child, but now looked up at her mother. He gasped when he realized who it was. "Anastasia? Is that you?"

Anastasia stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" She asked.

He didn't say a word. Quite frankly, he couldn't.

Her eyes widened as she recognized him. "Are you...?"

He nodded.

She beamed. "Oh my goodness! It's been so long! How are you?" She asked, seeming like her usual happy self on the outside, but inside she was terrified and simply wanted to avoid making him angry. Unfortunately for her, he was already upset.

"How am I? HOW AM I? Is that even a question?!?!" He growled. "I am heartbroken, angry, and devastated all because of what you did to me! So don't you dare act like nothing is wrong and we're good friends."

She nodded, but thought it best not to say anything.

Her daughter had come out from behind her mother's skirt and now stood with her arms at her sides, fists clenched. "STOP BEING A MEANIE TO MY MOMMY!" She screamed, stomping her little foot.

Most people turned to stare for a moment before going back to their shopping, while Anastasia shushed her and told her to be quiet.

G. stared at the little girl, surprised at her outburst. "And now you've had a child? A child?!?!?!" He grabbed Anastasia's arm and pulled her so her face was inches away from his. "I was mad at you before, but now...now I'm furious. You had better watch yourself, because I will get you Anastasia. I will get you for everything you've done to me."

"HEY!"

The three turned to see Steve running towards the scene, a bag of chips in his hand. He threw it into the cart and shoved G. away. "Stay away from her!" He warned. "Wait a second...is that you?"

"Steve."

Steve had brown eyes, black spikey hair, and wore a navy polo shirt and faded jeans. "One more incident like that, and I'll get a restraining order." He threatened as he picked up his daughter.

"I didn't do anything."

"You were about to. Just stay away from me and my family, and I won't get the restraining order. Simple as that."

G. glared at him, wanting to punch the guy's teeth in, but thought better of it and simply stalked away.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A year passed, and the Hendricks had no run ins with G. and Anastasia hadn't gotten any messages from him. Another year passed, and nothing. Another year, still nothing. Finally, Anastasia felt like she could relax again and enjoy life. So she did! She went on lots of dates with Steve, enjoyed her work, and watched her daughter grow up into a beautiful young woman. Nine years later, something finally happened. She was just in bed, about to fall asleep next to Steve when her phone buzzed.

She shivered as she pulled the blankets around her tighter, it sure was cold tonight. After turning the thermostat up, she checked her phone and saw that she'd gotten a text from a number she didn't recognize. She frowned, but figured it was just someone who'd gotten the wrong number. She unlocked her phone, about to tell the person that when she saw what the text was.

DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN. YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN, YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I WILL DO. WHATEVER I DO IS WHAT YOU GET FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME. I'M COMING FOR YOU.-G.

Anastasia sank to her knees and burst into silent tears.


	2. Runaway Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandy runs away from social services and ends up in a group home.

_'Run....run...don't stop....just run.'_  

That thought spun through her head over and over as each foot pounded along the asphalt. Her sides ached, her lungs burned, and her breath came desperate and ragged. Despite the pain she ran on, fear educed adrenalin being her only energy source. Her long wavy black hair flowed behind her, damp from sweat. Her brown eyes squinted slightly as the sun shone brighter, making things all the more difficult. Her heart pounded as she heard a the car behind her and filled with sheer terror as the sound of horns honking blared through her ears. She could barely breathe, let alone move.

 _'I have to run....almost there...almost there.'_  

She kept the mantra going, determined to keep going. Finally, the large two story house lay just a short distance ahead, and seeing her goal she tried to run faster. Tried. She ended up just a few feet away from the porch when her vision went blurry and she collapsed, unconscious.

Inside, a man who looked to be in his late twenties, sat on an old leather couch leafing through a newspaper when he heard the horns honk nearby. He frowned but ignored it until the noise seemed to be closing in on his house. He got up and looked out the window only to find two cars pulling up to his property. His brow furrowed with worry as he walked out the door and down the porch steps only to trip over something.

_Someone._

He stepped back, shocked. Who was this person and was she dead? He sincerely hoped not. He'd almost tripped over a young girl, probably around the age of fifteen or sixteen, drenched in sweat and collapsed face down on the ground. The two men driving got out of their cars, both wearing a solid light blue button down and a navy jacket, khaki pants, and shielded their eyes with sunglasses. The whole ensemble gave them a casual, yet authorative look.

"Sir, are you Daniel Evans?" One of them asked.

He nodded. "Call me Danny. What happened? Who is she?"

He pulled out his ID. "I'm Darren Maxwell, with the Department of Child Services." He said. "And this is my partner Joe Cox."

After showing him his ID, Joe explained. "Her name is Amanda Hendricks, or Mandy as she likes to be called, and she's fifteen years old. No more than two days ago her house burned down with her parents in it while she'd been staying with a friend overnight. There is evidence that the fire was caused deliberately, but no evidence of who killed them. Whoever we're dealing with they've got skill. She has no other relatives close by, and the distant ones don't want anything to do with her. We've trying to find her somewhere to stay and today we were going to put her into foster care with a good family we'd found. We had to finish up some of the final paperwork inside when she ran off. By the time we'd finished, she'd gotten quite far so that's why we were after her in our cars and not on foot."

"Can't say I'm surprised, with cases like this the child is bound to react this way." Darren said.

Danny sighed. "Poor thing, she fainted from exhaustion." He said as he watched Joe examine her.

Darren glanced at the large wooden sign just next to the porch steps. "Evans Home for Everyone?"

"I run a mixed group home, for boys and girls, with my wife."

"Looks like she knew where to go."

"Hmm, I guess so. Let's get her inside."

Almost as soon as they'd carried her in and put her on the couch, a woman rushed in. She also looked to be in her late twenties, but she was stunning with her shoulder length blonde curls, ocean blue eyes and patches of freckles sprinkled across either side of her nose. She was of average height, and had come in wearing a teal polo shirt, a dark jeans, teal flip flops, and a solid black apron.

 "What happened?" She asked, her voice carrying a soft southern accent.

Danny introduced her. "This is my wife, Stephanie. She really helps keep this place up and running." He said. He also had a southern accent.

After the social workers greeted her and explained what had happened, she instantly started caring for the girl, trying to make her as comfy as possible and hopefully even wake her up somehow.

The social workers, Darren and Joe discussed what to do about Mandy with Danny while Stephanie kept an eye on her. Ten minutes later, Mandy stirred and startled everyone with a loud groan. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking rapidly as her vision cleared and was invaded by the garish light. Her eyes widened with fear and darted around the unfamiliar room, seeing a red headed man and a blonde woman along with two officers.

 _'Who are these people? What do they want?'_   She was frightened, but felt too weak to move hardly at all.

The blonde woman knelt next to her, smiling kindly.

"Hi sweetheart, I'm Stephanie. Can you hear me?" She asked gently, propping her head up with a pillow.

Mandy hesitated a moment, unsure if she could talk, after all she'd run all the way here. It took her a minute but she finally found her voice and wheezed out a quiet, "Yes."

Stephanie stood for a moment and talked with the officers, something about getting her settled while they figured out what to do.

' _Figure out what?'_ Mandy wondered.

Suddenly, the events over the past few days made themselves known to her mind once again, and in addition to shocked heartache she remembered who the two men were and where she was. _'Social workers...they're going to put me in a foster home if I can't stay here...'_

She was exhausted from the running, the rush of emotions and horrible memories. It all made her even sleepier since and took what little energy she had. Just as she started to drift off again, she felt a strong gentle grip help her up and guide her to another room. She willed herself to wake up a bit more, even though she thought she couldn't, and found she was in a rather nice kitchen. Hardwood floors, matching wooden upper and lower cabinets, a wide white sink, a dishwasher to the left of it a few cabinets then an oven.

The counter was marble that had a sort of beige color and had a vase of flowers next to the sink.  Stephanie guided her to a small table and sat her down, getting something in the fridge as Mandy looked around. Stephanie came back and handed her a large glass of water and placed a full jug next to it before going back and poking around in the fridge again, this time getting food. The poor girl had fainted from exhaustion and must be starving.

Mandy grabbed the glass and drank greedily, choking almost immediately on what she could only describe as liquid heaven.

Meanwhile Danny paced around the living room nervously as Darren and Joe now talked privately and made several calls. They'd talked with him about having her stay here instead of going into foster care. He'd gladly take her in, sure she'd want that considering she ran all the way here. Although if he did, she'd have to be the last kid he accepted. They were only allowing six children or teens and two adults, as there were limits to these homes, so she'd be the last one.

It was sad to say the least that she would be the last since Danny adored kids and teens of all ages and wanted to give them the best he could manage. It was a bit awkward at first, since they didn't know each other. After a while though, he considered each child or teenager as his own. Doing this...filled a hole in his heart. Three years ago he and his wife had gone to the hospital for a check up, only to find out that Stephanie was unable to bear children after they'd tried many times and failed. Back then they'd assumed it was an accident and had kept trying, but it never worked. And finding this out, confirmed that it never would.

They grieves and mended their broken hearts before they tried to adopt. That however, wasn't proving to be very successful either. It would take several long years, and with all the paperwork, complications, and waiting, it just made Stephanie feel worse. Danny hated seeing her that way and did everything he could to ease her pain. Then one day, as he was looking online for an adoption that would take the least amount of time, he saw an ad for a group home.

He went to their website, did some research, calculated the funds and couldn't have been happier when he finished. They could start their own group home! It would sort of be like raising their own kids, and it was the closest thing and fastest option they had. Stephanie was thrilled and readily helped her husband make preparations. Now they were working, successful, and with five or maybe even six kids in the future their dream was coming true.

Danny walked into the kitchen where Stephanie was just retrieving Mandy's empty plate and glass of water and putting it in the sink. He pulled up a chair and sat in front of the girl, who had been watching him but now dropped her eyes shyly. For some reason his casual and comfortable appearance helped her relax, he noted as he saw the tension in her shoulders decrease slightly. He had natural red hair parted down the middle and hanging off the sides of his head just at his ears, neatly trimmed beard stubble, green eyes and several freckles. His figure was strong and fit, and he had a very slight amount of pudge around his middle. He wore plain black shoes, a grey shirt and old faded jeans.

"Howdy." He greeted her.

"Hi." She mumbled.

"Can you tell me your name?" He asked, even though he already knew.

She looked up slowly, biting her bottom lip nervously before answering. "Amanda Hendricks, but everyone calls me Mandy."

"Alright then Mandy. Darren and Joe, from the Department of Child Services tell me you ran off this morning."

She nodded.

"You were scared about going into foster care, weren't you?"

She nodded again.

"I know how that is, I've got foster parents myself. And I know you were scared, but that wasn't the smartest thing to do running off like that. You fainted from exhaustion. You could have gotten it worse than that you know, running all the way here. Impressive, but stupid." He said.

Mandy blushed despite herself but kept her gaze on him and her expression serious.

"I have to ask, why did you come here? There were other places you could have gone, why here?" He asked.

She sighed. "Because it's the closest thing I've ever had next to my own home. I grew up around here, and I'd often pass this place. I'd see the kids working and Stephanie bringing them lemonade, or them playing outside, or hear laughter and music come from inside. Every time I passed by I wished I could be a part of that, though I was happy with my own home most of the time."

"Most of the time?" He repeated as he put an arm around Stephanie who had taken a seat next to him.

"I grew up as an only child, no brothers or sisters so it did get pretty lonesome."

"So you ran to the only other place you knew."

"Yep."

Danny couldn't help but smile when he asked this, and Stephanie was practically glowing. "Would you like to stay here? We've got one more room left. It depends what the officials say, but would you like to?"

Mandy beamed. "Only one room left? Heck yeah I wanna stay! Way better than staying with my grouchy, crappy, distant relatives!"

Stephanie raised an eyebrow. "Well if you do, then-"

Danny cut her off. "We'll get to that later sweetie. Right now we have to see what Darren and Joe have to say about it."

Mandy shivered. "Gosh, it's cold in here."

"Course it is, you nearly sweat right through your shirt!" Danny chuckled, going and grabbing a blanket off the couch and tossing it on her head playfully.

She draped it around herself, and smiled, just a little.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the finished talking with the Darren and Joe, and doing some paper work they let Mandy stay and made sure she had everything, including what little belongings she had, ready by mid afternoon. Stephanie had shown her the room she'd be staying in after she'd had a shower and changed into clean clothes. It had a hardwood floor and a dark grey paint covering three walls except on the right side, which remained white. The white wall was occupied with a large set of windows that nearly filled the entire thing and had thin pink curtains pulled to either side.

Next to the window there was a tall set of white shelves, some had a decoration and some were stocked with books or an extra blanket. Near that there was a single bed with a white wooden frame, plain white bedding and a folded up spring green throw blanket at the end. At the front of the bed was a matching white bedside table with a black lamp with a pink shade and at the end of the bed was a short, pink, woven wooden basket. And lastly there was a painting of pinkish crimson flowers hanging above the head of the bed and a white wooden dresser parallel to the bed at the other side of the room.

Mandy beamed. "Wow! This...is...gorgeous!"

"Good! I'm glad you like it! Go ahead and unpack and make yourself at home. When you're done with that let us know and we'll have you meet everyone else." Stephanie said before she went downstairs.

 _'Oh, that's right. I forgot about the others.'_   Mandy thought as she unpacked what little belongings she had left. _'I wonder if they'll like me.'_

She had almost finished since she didn't have much, but she stopped cold at the last two things in her bag that had been buried under a few sets of clothes, her phone, charger, iPod, and a couple of her favorite books. The last two things was a medium sized stuffed fox with a gold heart locket around it's neck with pictures of her parents inside. The fox was a gift her mother had given her for Christmas just six months ago, and around it's neck was the necklace was the one her father had given her that same holiday. Tears flooded her eyes as she took it off the plush animal and hooked it around her neck. She closed her eyes, twin tears falling down her face as she remembered what had happened.

******************

FLASHBACK

******************

Emily howled with laughter as she watched Mandy try to dance along to the current soundtrack. Suddenly, she yelped as Mandy jerked her up and convinced her to dance too. The two best friends danced crazily, looking quite ridiculous and they even added some rather loud karaoke to the mix. They'd just finished bellowing out 'Shake it off' by Taylor swift and were rejoicing that it was summer, just about mid summer to be exact, before collapsing on the floor in a panting, giggling mess. They crawled into the kitchen and had only just started to cram their mouths with cream puffs, chocolate and various other sweets when they'd heard the sirens.

The two ran out the door, one after the other, watching the trucks speed away.

"Oh my gosh...they're heading for my neighborhood!" Mandy shrieked.

Emily gasped and ran back inside to grab her Dad's binoculars from the kitchen junk drawer. She ran back out and tried to get a better view. When she did, she became eerily quiet.

Mandy snatched the binoculars from her and looked, her heart dropping to her stomach when she saw that it was _her_   house up in flames. Without another word she took off towards the disaster in her pajamas, which consisted of sweat pants and a white tank top and no shoes. She heard Emily scream after her and her feet hurt since she wasn't wearing any shoes, but she just ignored those things and kept running. She made it to her house after a few minutes, wanting to run inside and save her parents but she was stopped by a policeman.

"Stay back!" He warned.

"NO! NO! NOOOOO! LET ME THROUGH! YOU HAVE TO SAVE THEM!" She screamed as she struggled in his grip.

She eventually stopped screaming, only to start sobbing. She let him lead her to wait with the medics by the ambulance, noticing that Emily and her parents had shown up a few minutes later. She stayed with them and waited with baited breath as the firemen searched for her parents. They soon found them and carried them out, severely burned. Mandy nearly ran to them, or rather what was left of them, and would have had Emily's father not stopped her. They were placed into the ambulance before a firefighter came over and delivered the news. Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks had been severely burned and they had come too late. Mr. and Mrs. Hendricks, were dead.

Mandy's face crumpled and she started to wail and sob harder than ever before.

Her parents were dead.

**********************

END OF FLASHBACK

*********************

Mandy was too busy crying quietly on her bed to notice her door open slightly, just enough for someone to squeeze through. A little girl, probably being six years old, poked her head in and frowned at what she saw. She eased the door open a bit more and snuck inside. She watched the new older girl, who sat cross legged and cried into her hands, for a moment before approaching quietly.

"Hi."

The older girl jumped at the voice and was surprised to see a little kid standing in front of her. She had long, straight, light brown hair with bangs, blue eyes and wore jean overalls and a pink shirt underneath along with matching sandals and a bow in her hair.

"Why are you crying?" She asked.

Mandy sniffled but didn't respond.

The little girl shrugged and climbed onto the bed and seated herself on Mandy's lap and wrapped her arms and legs around her, snuggling her face into her chest.

"Wait...what...what are you doing? And who are you?" Mandy asked, wrapping her arms around the kid, unable to help herself.

The kid grinned up at her. "I'm Charlie. Danny calls me the captain of cuddles sometimes so when someone needs a cuddle I give it to them, it's my job." She explained matter of factly.

Mandy sniffled again but smiled a little despite herself.

A moment later, Stephanie knocked and came in. "So I've see you've already met Charlie." She said, amusement lacing her tone.

Charlie got off Mandy and hopped over to Stephanie, giggling. Mandy slowly got up and wiped away the last of her tears.

"You okay?" Stephanie asked.

Mandy nodded.

"Well if you need me, I'm here."

She nodded again.

Charlie sighed loudly. "Come on!!" She whined, yanking Mandy's hand. "You have to meet the others!"

Mandy followed the two downstairs, wondering who she'd meet and what her new life would be like in this house. Evans House. Evans House...for Everyone.


	3. Adjusting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandy adjusts to the people she is going to live with, her new family.

Mandy went downstairs with Stephanie and Charlie, more than a little nervous.

 _'What if they don't like me?'_   She wondered.

She didn't have time to worry any further however as they entered the living room. It was empty, but she assumed the others would be here soon. The last time she'd been in here was after getting food just a few hours ago when she'd arrived, but she'd been so exhausted and focused on the situation at hand that she never really took notice to the room's appearance. It was a fairly sizable, simple room.

Polished hardwood floors, light grey painted walls, and two large windows on the corner of the right wall with an orange curtain pulled back from them. There was a big widescreen television on the front of the wall in a light wooden entertainment center, and in front of that was a dark wood coffee table on a small square orange carpet. Surrounding that were three leather couches, well two couches and an arm chair.

A love seat on the right, a three seated couch at the front and the arm chair at the left. Between the love seat and three seated couch there was a dark wood stand with a simple lamp on it, and another one on the other side of it. There were several magazines on the coffee table next to a pile of coasters, and several pictures on the wall of Danny and Stephanie with the kids.

Stephanie sat on the couch, holding Charlie on her lap and checking her phone.

Mandy sighed. "Okay...you wanted me to talk to you so I am and...I'm nervous." She admitted. "I mean...I don't know how they'll treat me...and I'm pretty much living with strangers. Still though, I guess that's better than my mean relatives."

Stephanie smiled and put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "Everyone is on their first day and a few after that. Don't worry though, I'm sure they'll like you just fine. And if not then I'll get after them." She teased.

Mandy smirked.

Just then Danny entered with four people following him, three boys and one girl. They were all lined up and introduced from oldest to youngest. 

"Hi, my name is Jason, I'm seventeen. Welcome to the house." He said, and shook her hand politely. Jason was just an inch or two shy of six feet, he was slim and probably had a bit of hidden muscle. His perfectly chiseled jaw and slight cheekbones accented his blue eyes and dirty blonde curly hair  well. He wore a navy polo shirt and light jeans.

 _'He looks friendly enough.'_   Mandy thought.

Next, she met the only other girl there besides Charlie. "The name's Sam, and I'm fifteen." She said. "You know, it's about time we got another girl! Especially one that's my age! Stick with me and we might be able to survive these three." She said. The others scoffed and rolled their eyes at her answer, which only succeeded in making her giggle. She had dark skin, a very slightly chubby but curvy figure, brown eyes, an explosion of dark brown curls and wore a orange and white striped long sleeved shirt, a knee length jean skirt, and some cute strapped sandals.

 _'I like her already! I think we'll be good friends.'_   Mandy hoped.

"Justin...thirteen." He was the third in line and was quite pale. He had brow hair that was combed to cover one of his eyes, and the one that wasn't covered was blue-gray. To be honest, he looked like teenage death to Mandy. He wore ripped jeans and a black jacket with it's hood up along with black converse shoes. His mumbled greeting and the fact that he barely even looked at her made Danny shoot him a disproving look.

Mandy barely kept herself from grimacing.  _'Ugh, are you SERIOUS? PLEASE tell me he's not an emo or goth or anything.'_  

She wasn't really too fond of the emo types of people, because they depressed her and they hated pretty much everything and everyone. At least the ones she had known and met. Instead though, she simply smiled and nodded, telling herself not to judge so quickly. Maybe he wasn't an emo, maybe he was just having a bad day.

And last but not least, was the smallest and perhaps cutest of them all, next to Charlie. "My name is Billy! Sammy is my sister, and I'm seven years old!" He declared proudly, showing the amount on his fingers. He also had dark skin, brown eyes, but had a shaved head. He wore a red t-shirt with the hot-wheels logo on the front and black shorts and no shoes.

Danny nodded in approval. "Everyone, this is Mandy. Please, make her feel welcome." He said.

She waved awkwardly. "Hi." She said.

"Wanna check out my room?" Sam asked.

Mandy shrugged and followed her back upstairs and into the room next to hers, noticing that all the girls rooms were on one side and the guys on the other. When they entered, Mandy's jaw fell slack. Sam's room had white walls and one large window on the left side of the room, it was one of those that had a giant window sill that you could sit on. Just in front of it was a queen sized bed with a pastel blue, yellow, pink and green bedspread, and several pillows. In addition to the regular ones for sleeping, there were several for decoration.

One was navy with white polka dots, two were gray with stripes, and finally the last one was also navy and had her name printed on it. The white wooden head of the bed stretched high against the wall and had a large Union Jack painted on it.Against the right wall was a light wood desk and a matching chair, and at the back of the room was old looking wardrobe next to a dresser. And finally to give the room a little more decoration, Sam had taken leaves and cut them up into small pieces and made mosaics out of them. She had one of a tree, a bird, one of a heart and of course a Union Jack.

"Well? What do you think?" She asked, clearly quite proud of the room.

Mandy whistled in appreciation. "Man, this is some Group Home! I mean seriously, since when did they make the rooms this nice?" She asked.

"Since the Evans like to spend money on us. We're practically their adopted kids." Sam said, then fell down on her bed lazily.

"So, since you're the only girl besides Charlie...can you show me the ropes?" Mandy asked. She was still nervous, hesitant, and unsure about living here.

 "Sure. Now get over here and relax! Come on, you're too shy and polite. You gotta shake that off." 

Mandy hesitated once more, before she flopped onto the bed next to her. 

"Alright, let's take you through the rules first." Sam said. "We all have to respect each other and get along. Lying is not allowed, no beating each other up, we have to stay safe, obey the curfew, respect and obey Danny and Stephanie, no swearing or cursing, we all have to do our chores and homework, eat whatever is served to us, and behave in general or we'll get punished."

"Um, okay."

"Did you get all that?"

"I think so."

"Well you can always ask again if you forget, newbies usually have trouble learning the rules at first from what I've heard."

"I guess so, but I'm glad it's summer and there's no homework to worry about. And what kinds of punishments are there? Are they really bad?" Mandy mentally kicked herself. _'What kind of question was that? Great, now she'll think I'm a weirdo.'_

Sam smirked. "No, not really. It depends on how bad you've been honestly. Let's see...there's line writing, mouth washing if you curse or have a reallybad attitude or get really sassy, grounding, no supper once in a while, privileges taken away, and spanking. I mean, like I said it depends."

"Spanking?!?!"

"Uh, yeah. What's the big deal? Have you never been spanked before?"

"Well...I have been punished like that before but aren't we a little too old for that?"

Sam snorted. "Apparently not. Danny always says that we're never to old for one of those, they're really old fashioned when it comes to most things, especially punishments. Lastly, we'll get extra chores sometimes too."

"Are they really strict about everything and kind of mean about it?"

Even though Mandy had thought the couple was perfectly nice earlier, she had no idea whether that was true or not. They could have just been treating her nicely because she'd fainted.

"They are strict, but not like you'd think. Danny and Stephanie aren't mean or anything when we get in trouble, so you don't have to worry. They keep us in line but they're really fun too, you'll love them once you get to know them. It's like we're their family."

"Speaking of family, Billy's your brother right?"

"Yeah."

"How did you two end up here? If you don't mind my asking."

Sam grew quiet, and Mandy thought she'd touched a nerve. She probably did, but Sam still answered. "Mom and Dad dropped us off here and left for Vegas after winning the lottery." She sighed. "Poor Billy, he cried for a week straight and sometimes still after that."

"I'm sorry about that..."

"Don't be. It's in the past, so there's nothing that can be done about it. Anyway, what about you? I told you how I got here, now you tell me."

"Well...okay. My parents...died in my house fire...while I was at my friend Emily's for a sleepover. It was only two days ago." She said quickly, blinking back tears.

"Oh. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah...me too."

Seeing the new girl's fallen expression, Sam quickly changed the subject. "I take it you're an only child then?"

"Yep."

"Then you're gonna have tons fun learning how it is to have brothers and sisters!"

"I've always wanted siblings!"

Sam took one look at her a burst out laughing. "Trust me, I think you'll change your mind about that!"

The girls continued talking for well over an hour before they were called down for supper. Everyone sat at the table, Danny and Stephanie at each end, then the three girls on one side and the boys on the other. Tonight they were having barbecue chicken with rice, scalloped potatoes and vegetables.

"Wow, this is really good Stephanie!" Mandy said. She had no idea how it would be living here, but if the food was this good it couldn't be that hard.

"Thank you!" 

Jason spoke up for the first time since she'd met him. "So Mandy, what are some of your hobbies?" He asked.

"Uh, I like crafty activities. And...the outdoors! I love climbing trees and just being with nature, you know? Other than that I like baking, cooking, reading, and writing." She said.

"Really? Cool! It's about time we had a girl around here who was into the outdoors!" He said as he winked at Sam, who rolled her eyes. "What do you write about?"

She giggled. "I wrote a bit of fan fiction in the past, along with some fantasy stories but now I mostly do poetry."

Stephanie smiled. "I'm glad you like cooking! I could use a pair of hands in the kitchen, if you'd like to help." She glanced at the two youngest, who were sitting on either side of her. "Children, eat your peas and carrots, don't throw them at each other." She said.

"Sure!" Mandy said. "Helping you cook sounds like fun!"

_'Once I get to know you.'_

"Fanfiction?" Sam asked, nearly choking on her water. "What fandoms are you in?"

"Doctor Who and Sherlock."

Sam shrieked. "Finally! Someone who's into what I'm into!" She said.

Danny winced at the high pitch. "Sam, calm down. Mandy, you said you liked nature, right?" He asked.

"Right." She said.

"That's great, because we're going on our family fishing trip in a few days!"

"Awesome!" Mandy said, pretending to be excited. Though on the inside she felt as if she was intruding on their family outing. Not wanting to be rude, she didn't say anything else on the matter.

 _'I don't want to go...I'm not a part of the family yet. I don't want it to be awkward.'_   She thought.

"What? Why?" Justin groaned, speaking for the first time since the meal started.

"Our family fishing trip is in a few days, and we're going because it's a great way to spend quality time together." Stephanie said.

Justin folded his arms. "I don't want to go." He said, making it clear that he was not going to be convinced otherwise.

Danny gave him a harsh look, but it didn't seem to have any effect. 

"Look, you all can go and hug trees, I don't care. Just leave me out of it. I don't want to go, so I won't. I'm sick of you dragging me on all these stupid family outings every month that I don't want to go on!" He complained. "Just take the poor little victim and go already!" 

"Poor little victim?" Danny asked, his tone holding a warning.

"Yeah, I was outside when the social workers came so I heard what happened. She just wants you to feel sorry for her. She can just as well go and live with her distant relatives, and I doubt they're as bad as she says."

Mandy gaped at him and without thinking she let her anger boil over. "Excuse me?!?! Look who's talking, suicidal looking emo freak!" As soon as the words left her mouth, half of her wanted to cover her mouth and then apologize, but the other half wanted to push on and wouldn't tolerate being tolerated by some guy she didn't even know.

"Hey!" He hadn't expected her to respond.

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true!"

"Wow! Great job Danny! Really nice choice bringing _her_   in!"

"Oh _shut_ up!"

Everyone else at the table had been watching in shock. Usually the new people didn't act up on the first night, but then again Justin had struck a recent and sensitive nerve.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"Danny shouted.

Everyone froze, except Stephanie.

"Justin, I have had _enough_ of your _terrible_ attitude! You are coming on the outing _whether you want to or not."_ He snapped. "You've been complaining about everything, talking back, and being extremely disrespectful today. This is your last chance before you get another punishment, so I highly recommend you _keep. your. mouth. shut_."

Justin scowled at his dinner and his stubborn façade diminished slightly.

Danny's glare was now on Mandy. "And you, you're new so I'll let you off with a warning. You and I are going to have a talk about the rules later, since Sam's run-through wasn't enough."

Mandy bit her lip and nodded meekly, looking down in embarrassment. She knew she must have made a really bad first impression on her first night.

Several awkwardly silent minutes passed.

"Jason's going to college in a year." Sam said, eager to break the ice.

Stephanie looked crestfallen. "Don't remind me." She sighed.

Jason chuckled. "Aw come on, I've still got a year."

"What are you studying?" Mandy asked.

"Business."

"Oh, that's cool. What do you-"

Charlie and Billy were apparently growing bored of the conversation. "WE FOUND A FROG TODAY!" They suddenly shouted.

"Inside voices." Stephanie reminded them. "And don't interrupt next time."

"Where did you find it?" Mandy asked.

"We found it by the river!" Billy said.

"And then Billy falled in and got wet!" Charlie giggled. "Jason took us and it was really fun!"

"Yeah! Really fun! Except when I got all wet!" Billy echoed.

"Good, now finish your dinner sweetie, it's getting cold." Stephanie said.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

After dinner, Jason and Sam were told to clean up the kitchen and tidy things up. Stephanie took Mandy to her room to wait for Danny to come and talk to her, Justin had run up to his room faster than you could blink, which left only Billy and Charlie. The two kids were playing nicely with their toys, although they would normally fight. After the way Danny had reprimanded Justin at the dinner table, that had scared them into behaving.

"I hope Mandy don't get in big trouble." Charlie admitted as she cuddled her teddy bear.

Billy tilted his head. "Why? You just met her."

"Yeah, but we had cuddles!"

"Oh, no wonder you're worried!"

They suddenly went silent as they watched Danny go upstairs, then exchanged worried glances.

"Uh-oh."

Danny went upstairs and opened the door to Mandy's room, finding her there sitting next to Stephanie on the bench that was connected to her large window.

"What happened in there?" He asked calmly as he pulled up his desk chair and sat down.

Mandy slowly looked up at him, a fire suddenly glinting in her eyes. "He thinks I just want people to pity me and wait on me hand and foot! My parents died **TWO** days ago in a fire and he thinks I'm going around looking for **CHARITY**? He has no idea what it's like to lose someone you love! And just because he doesn't want to go on the outing he took it out on **ME**! Just because I'm the new girl! That  **JERK!** " She growled, hot tears welling up and threatening to spill over at any moment.

Danny hesitated before responding. "I'm sorry about what happened to your parents, I know how you feel, as I am a foster child myself. And I agree, that was a low blow and he shouldn't have taken his anger out on you. I'll be having a talk with him later."

She nodded, glad that Justin was going to get what he deserved.

"As for you, you had every right to be mad at him. Although your insults and rudeness were uncalled for, so later you need to apologize to him. Next time he, or someone else makes you upset, tell me or Stephanie and we'll take care of it. And if it's at the table or something like today, then either ignore them or respond as civilly as you can." He said.

"I will. I'm sorry." 

Stephanie gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "Forgiven and forgotten dearie. We all have to respect each other and get along. That's how things work around here, so we can all be happy and enjoy each other. We're a family, and like every other family we have rules."

 _'You guys are a family.'_   She thought. _'I'm still an outsider.'_

Danny began listing the rules. "No lying, no hurting each other, obey curfew, always be safe too. You must respect and obey me and my wife, there will be no swearing and everyone has to do their chores and homework during school. Those are our rules, and they need to be followed while you stay here, okay?"

She nodded, blinking back tears at the memory of her parents talking to her just like this on more than one occasion. Her head flooded with memories of them, and then the fire. Before she knew it she was bawling a baby, ashamedly trying to hide her face. She was so embarrassed, crying in front of strangers.

The two adults stared at each other for a moment, confused. Suddenly Stephanie understood and put an arm around her, mouthing, 'We reminded her of her parents.' 

Danny winced. 'It needed to be said though.' He mouthed back.

She nodded and hugged the poor girl, trying to get her to calm down. He put a hand on her shoulder for a moment, then went to answer a phone call. After a few minutes, Mandy managed to calm down.

She sniffled and avoided eye contact. "Sorry about that." She muttered. "Can I go now?"

"Sure honey." Stephanie said.

Mandy ran out of the room and past Danny before shutting and locking herself in her room.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

A few hours later she left her room and knocked on the door with warnings on it not to enter, figuring it was Justin's room, and she was right.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" He yelled.

"Justin? It's Mandy. Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.

A second later the door opened slightly, and half of his angry face peeked out.

"What do you want?" He repeated.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I called you earlier and arguing with you."

Justin scoffed. "Fine." He said, then promptly slammed the door in her face.

She had half expected an apology, but certainly didn't expect to have the door slammed in her face.

She went back to her room and decided to read one of her favorite books that she'd brought with her. Soon, Sam and Jason knocked and came in.

"Hey newbie." Jason said.

Sam jumped onto her bed. "What are you reading? Ah, Ted Dekker. He's pretty good. We were just about to go downstairs and play the drawing game with Billy and Charlie, wanna join?"

"The drawing game? How do you play?" Mandy said.

"Well each person has a stack of papers. First they write a sentence, and pass that stack around. The sentence they get next is what they have to draw. We go round until all the cards are used up and read everything once we finished. It's a laugh!" She explained. "Oh, we can also play bingo and gamble with candy!"

Mandy shrugged, not really feeling up to it.

"Aw come on grumpy." Jason teased. "You need a little fun to cheer you up."

She shrugged again.

"Cooooome ooooon!" He said in a sing-song voice, grinning widely as if he knew she'd smile.

She did. "Okay, sure! Let's go!"

As they headed downstairs, the two little ones rushed to her. "Mandy!"

She grinned. "Hi guys! We're going to play the drawing game! Want to join us?"

"Yeah!"

The rest of the evening was filled with happy games and lots of laughter, which was music to Danny and Stephanie's ears. And at the end of the night, Mandy felt a lot better and figured this place wouldn't be too bad. Maybe, or maybe not. There were still so many days to come.


	4. Fishing Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Evan's House Adopted Family goes on their monthly family fishing trip!

Mandy woke up early at five thirty the next morning. She'd meant to get up later since she wanted to sleep in some before the fishing trip this afternoon. She liked to sleep in occasionally, only when she knew that she either had hardly anything or nothing to do at all on that day. Though when she had things she had or wanted to do then she'd rise early. After laying in bed for a few minutes, hoping to get back to sleep for another hour or two. It didn't work so she reluctantly decided to get up and dressed.

She donned one of her more outdoorsy outfits, which consisted of jean capris, black tennis shoes, and a black shirt that had Tree Climber scrawled on it in a liquid-like green font, thankful this was one of her own outfits she'd brought. Since the fire, this was the only other outfit she had other than the one she wore yesterday and her pijamas. She really hoped that Stephanie or someone would take her shopping soon. She pulled her long hair into a pony tail with segments, which was one small section of hair between each hair tie all in one long pony tail. And finally, she put on her matching green cap with a black rim and pulled her hair through the back of it. 

Looking at herself in the mirror, she smiled at what she saw, and smiled wider at her own happy expression. She'd cried plenty in the past two days, and she would most definitely cry later, but for now she decided that today she needed to just relax and enjoy the people who would soon hopefully become her adopted family. Checking her phone, she saw that it was five fifty. Mandy sighed and decided to call her best friend to fill the time until it seemed like a decent time to be awake. She really missed her, and hadn't gotten to talk to her since the sleepover.

Emily had straight dark brown shoulder length hair, blue eyes, and she had very light skin, she was thin and the same height as her best friend. Mandy smiled a little as she remembered the fun they'd had that night before...she stopped herself and focused on why she was calling. She would have to tell her that she wouldn't be able to talk for most of the day due to the fishing trip, though mostly she just wanted to talk with her about moving here as much as she could before they left.

The phone rang six times before Emily answered.

"Uh, who is this?" Her tired voice asked.

"Hey Em!"

"Mandy....what...."

Mandy bit her lip to keep from giggling.

"Do you even know what time it is? It's almost six in the morning!" Emily said, yawning mid sentence.

"Sorry! I accidentally woke up early this morning and I got bored. Should I go? Because now might be the only time I can talk today, and I really miss you!"

"Oh, well if that's the case then I'm up." Emily said quickly. She cleared her throat and didn't sound as tired as she had before. "I really miss you too! Why can't you talk any other time though?"

"Well apparently, everyone is going on the monthly 'family' fishing trip today. I'm really looking forward to it! I really hope they've got some decent trees to climb, considering I'm wearing my tree climbing shirt."

Emily chuckled. "Take a picture for me, okay?"

"Oh thank goodness." Mandy said. "You finally sound like your normal self again! I thought I was talking to the living dead a few minutes ago."

"You were! You know I'm always dead before nine or ten! And sometimes eight thirty, but only sometimes."

"You wouldn't be dead if you went to sleep earlier, you night owl." Mandy teased.

Emily scoffed. "Please! Look who's talking! Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about the new place! What's it look like? What do you think of the people? How many people are there? Are there any cute guys?"

"Hold on a minute, I'll take some pictures for you."

"Okay!"

Mandy headed downstairs and quickly took pictures of as much of the place as she could. She got pictures of the living room, kitchen, stairs, front yard, back yard, and her room.

"Whoa! That place looks awesome! Especially your room!"

"Yeah, it looks pretty great I admit. I'm still pretty nervous about living here." She went on to tell her about what everyone looked like and her first impressions of them. "I hope to get to know Danny, Stephanie, and Jason a little more soon. Billy and Charlie are cute, just regular kids really. Justin, oh my word don't even get me started on him! He's such a grouch, and he's kind of emo. Sam's nice, fun, and into Doctor Who and Sherlock!" She said.

"Okay, I like this girl already! As far as Justin goes, just try and ignore him as much as you can. That way you won't argue much. And Mandy, you can get to know them better today! How about you hang with Danny and Jason today and then chat with Stephanie while you help her cook tomorrow or something?"

"Great idea! Thanks! So how are you?"

"I'm okay I guess...I miss you! It's hard knowing you're farther away, even if we do see each other often."

"Maybe you could visit sometime? I don't know when, but I think they'd be happy to have you over! Especially me!"

"Oh my word, yes! I am SO coming to visit sometime! Either that, or you're coming over again to see me!"

"Totally!" Mandy agreed. "How are your parents?" Lucy and Paul Andrews, Emily's parents, were very close to her own parents and she herself. As they continued to talk time flew by and soon it was seven o' clock when she heard Stephanie calling everyone down for breakfast. 

"Hey Em, I've gotta go. Breakfast is ready and I think we're gonna leave after that."

Emily groaned. "Aw, already?"

Mandy giggled. "Yeah, it's been like an hour and I'm starving. I'll try and text you later, okay?"

"Okay! Love you, bye!"

"Love you, bye!"

Mandy headed downstairs with the biggest smile she'd had on her face in quite a while. She was so happy that she'd gotten to catch up with her best friend and have something of familiarity in this new place. Next to the few items that she'd brought with her of course. When she got downstairs, she found herself to be the first one there.

Stephanie was just finishing setting the table when she noticed her. "Oh! Good morning Mandy! Are you excited for our big trip today?"

"Good morning! Oh yeah! I can't wait! What time are we going?" Mandy asked.

"We'll be heading out around ten, so in the mean time we'll do our chores and clean things up. Are you hungry? I made breakfast sandwiches. They've only got eggs right now and apple slices on the side, but," Stephanie said as she set out a few other plates on the table. "You can add what you like. Bacon, sausage, peppers, salsa, or cheese." 

"Sounds great!"

Just then, everyone came down stairs. 

"Morning sweetheart." Danny greeted Stephanie with a kiss.

The older kids rolled their eyes as they took their seats while Billy and Charlie gagged, which only made them laugh. Mandy found herself sitting in front of Sam this time, who didn't seem to have completely woken up yet. She immediately got up from the table and grabbed two plastic soda bottles from the fridge, one with red liquid, one with green. "Hey, Mandy. Want one?" She offered.

"What are they?" 

"Sparkling waters. It's basically fruit flavored soda, but without the calories."

"Um, sure. Why not?"

Sam sat down and handed her the red one, then began building her sandwich.

Mandy tried it, and loved it. "Oh my word...Sam. I officially love these!" She said.

They high fived across the table.

Jason groaned. "Oh no, not another one!"

Charlie gave him an inquisitive look. "Mmmfff ffmmm?" Crumbs spewed out of her mouth and onto the table.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Stephanie admonished.

She swallowed and asked, "What do you mean another one?"

"An addict to sparkling water." Jason explained. "Sam, how can you stand that stuff?"

She shrugged. "It's amazing to me, I think your taste-buds have just malfunctioned."

Danny and Billy were busy eating and listening to the conversation while Justin just ate quietly. He still had his hood up just like yesterday. Mandy was both worried and annoyed with this. Was he always like this? Was he always a sad sack of misery who tried to bring everyone down? Was he still upset over her comment even though she'd already apologized? 

Sam snapped her out of her thoughts. "So, you excited for the family fishing trip?" She asked.

"Oh yeah! It's been ages since I've been fishing!" Mandy answered immediately, even though this was the second time she'd been asked. "How did the last one go?"

"Fantastic! I caught a large sea bass, about this big." Jason said, showing the size. "In total we caught eight fish, and all almost on the first piece of bait!"

"Wow! You guys got lucky! Hey, did you know that you can catch fish with gummy worms? It's less gross and plus you can eat it too, so I'd say it's a win win." She said.

Billy gasped. "Gummy worms?!?" He asked, eyes wide.

She chuckled. "Yeah, fish love them! They're colorful like a lure, and definitely taste better than regular worms."

Once they'd finished breakfast, Danny gave everyone chores to do.

"We're going to clean things up before we go, so that way when we get back and we're tired we don't have to worry about doing anything." He explained. "Justin, I want you to mow the back yard since Jason did it last time. Mandy, you'll be cleaning up in the kitchen. Jason, I want you to sweep, dust, and make sure everything is neat and organised. Sam, you'll clean the bathroom, and I'll mow the front yard. Stephanie, could you do me a favor and pack up the gear and everything we'll need while I'm working on the lawn?"

"Sure honey."

"Thank you. Now Charlie, Billy, I want you two to tackle those messy rooms of yours. And I don't mean shove everything under the bed or in the closet, okay?"

They nodded.

"Good."

Everyone went off and began doing their jobs. Mandy started clearing the table as Jason began cleaning in the living room. As he was dusting, he noticed her worried expression. "Something bothering you?" He asked as he dusted the window sills. 

She sighed as she grabbed the empty plates off the table. "Well...kind of."

"What is it?"

"Justin. He still seems upset with me. I apologized for what I said at dinner last night. Did I forget something? Is he like this a lot?"

Jason dusted the lamp stand. "No, you're fine. He's almost always like that. He's trying to be an emo, trying, but honestly he's just a grouch most of the time just to spite people. I'd be really worried if he actually was one, you know, what with all the self harm and depression. That would scare me, because I really care about him even though he doesn't believe that most of the time. It's like I said, he's just a constant grouch. Although I don't see the reason why, because he's got nothing to be upset about here! He's got a roof over his head, his own room, good food, clothes, and people who care for him." He said.

Mandy frowned. "Maybe it's something that happened in his life before he came here. How did he get here anyway? What's his story?"

"No one knows except for Danny and Stephanie. They won't tell."

"Oh. Well what's your story then?"

Jason finished dusting and began to gather all the trash that was there while Mandy started on the dishes. "Well, it's going to sound really cliché but it's true. I've been here since I was a baby. Left on the doorstep in a cardboard box, just like in all those movies." He said. "It really happened, even though it sounds really fake and cliche. It's...going to be really hard for me to go to college next year, because this is my home and I'm extremely lucky and thankful that Danny and Stephanie are even sending me there, I didn't think they could afford it but they can apparently.

"Wow...that's...amazing. They must be really nice."

"They are, and they're thrilled to have you here."

"Oh? Good, I didn't want to intrude or anything. It feels like I have been...but that's just because I don't know everyone yet. So, did you ever try and find your biological parents?" She asked.

"I did, and I found them. My dad left right after my mother gave birth, scared of commitment and preferring freedom over a baby. They never had much money, but he took what little they had. My mom did her best until she was unable to take care of me so she left me here. Danny and Stephanie helped me look for her. Finally I found her a few years ago, she was living in an alley and was very sick. We sent her to the hospital and tried to help her, but it was too late. She was dying, but at least she remembered me. We talked, I told her I loved her, she said she loved me, I held her hand tightly...then she..." He trailed off as his voice got husky.

"Oh Jason, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-" She was cut off.

"No, no. It's fine." He said quickly, wiping away at the tears in his eyes. "It's only fair you know my story since I know yours."

They continued to clean in a sad feeling silence and were just about done when Mandy decided to try something to cheer him up. She thought it was stupid but she tried it anyway and began to whistle the tune of one of her favorite songs, Thriller by Michael Jackson. It took him a moment, but he perked up and eventually began whistling along. They grinned and couldn't help but start singing.

"You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it! You start to freeze, as horror looks you right between the eyes, you're paralyzed! Cause this is THRILLER! THRILLER NIGHT! And no ones gonna save you from the beast about to strike! You know it's THRILLER! THRILLER NIGHT! You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller, toniiiiiight!"

Next thing they knew they were dancing. Mandy was going solo and Jason was grooving with the broom when Danny and Justin suddenly came inside from finishing the yard work.  Danny was about to speak but Justin beat him to it.

He was sweaty and exhausted, having removed his hoodie in exchange for a light long sleeved black shirt, but despite the heat he still kept his hair in front of one of his eyes. "What are you two doing?" He said.

Jason and Mandy had been so caught up in their little dance party that they didn't notice him but when they finally did they burst out laughing at how ridiculous they must have looked.

"The thriller, obviously!" They said in unison.

Half an hour later, all of the chores were finished and got ready for the fishing trip.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Mandy suspected the car ride would be long and boring but as it turned out, the lake wasn't very far at all. It was only a few miles down the road from the little stream that was in the property's backyard. When they arrived and got out of the car, Mandy couldn't take her eyes off of the place. There was a beautiful, large, dark green lake with a hint of blue had several pine trees on one side and behind that were gorgeous mountains. There were more pine trees on their side along with a couple regular trees that were perfect for climbing.

"Oh wow!" she gasped. In an instant she'd scaled the nearest normal tree and was looking out over the entire lake. "WOW! THERE'S A GREAT VIEW UP HERE!" She shouted, glancing down as everyone was setting things up.

"MANDY, BE CAREFUL!" Danny called. "COME DOWN AND GET YOUR GEAR!"

She quickly climbed down and grinned proudly as he found her a fishing pole and handed her the can of worms. "Don't worry, I've been climbing trees for as long as I can remember!"

"If you're so into the outdoors, I take it you know how to fish?"

"Yep!"

She eagerly grabbed her pole and ran along the shore to the other side before she settled down between two trees, giving her a perfect view over the water. On the other side, she could see Justin and Jason from a distance. Justin was putting his headphones in while Jason baited his hook. She looked around a little more and saw Danny coming over with his pole, but Sam, Stephanie, Billy, and Charlie were nowhere to be seen.

"Where's everyone else?" She asked as he sat next to her and got his pole ready.

"If someone doesn't want to fish, Stephanie will take them into the woods back there to pick berries. Sam's not real into dealing with fish, Charlie isn't either, and sometimes Billy helps me or Jason but not this time." He explained.

She nodded and baited her hook. She flicked her pole making the lure and hook landed quite a distance away. She grinned proudly.

"Not bad." He remarked, tossing his own hook out there. It landed just behind hers.

After a few moments of silence, Mandy spoke. "So what's your job during the year? If you have one."

"Well, during the year I work at the bank."

"Oh."

He chuckled. "I know, it sounds boring but it's really not. Its a good paying job and I've got some good friends there. I mean, it was either work at the bank, the hardware store, be a waiter at a restaurant, or be the coach at the local high school."

"Did you ever think you'd work at a bank when you were a kid?"

"No, not really. When I was a kid all I thought about was growing up to be a cowboy, since we lived in the country back then and my family and I watched a lot of western movies."

"How did you meet Stephanie?"

"She and I grew up together and-"

"Aw, that's so cute! Then you eventually fell in love and got married and lived happily ever after!" Mandy gushed, half teasing half think it was cute.

"Thanks for stealing my thunder." He teased. "That is the summary of it though. After we got married we tried to have kids but we couldn't, adoption would take too long and so this place was the fastest thing for us and we absolutely love it."

"Oh, so that's why you started this place!"

"Yeah. And since starting it not only have we had a lot of fun and memories but also a lot of stories! One time, Sam came outside just as we were going in from painting the house. She'd forgotten and leaned against the wet wall and got paint all over the back of her."

Mandy giggled.

"Another time, I accidentally scared Billy to death. We both got up to get water in the middle of the night, and saw each other's dark silhouette in the hallway. Boy did we SCREAM. Poor kid was shaking but we eventually started laughing." He chuckled. "And once when Justin was helping cook dinner, he put the potatoes in the oven to bake and didn't realize he had the temperature too high. When he finally opened it, BOOM! They exploded right in his face!"

She laughed and accidentally snorted, which got Danny laughing along with her. He had a hearty, deep, contagious laugh while she laughed like a machine gun. Their laughs furthered their amusement until Mandy's pole began to be yanked.

She gasped and gripped the pole tightly. "I've got one!"

"Quick! Pull it, now reel it in!" He said.

Mandy reeled her line in with as much effort as she could because it seemed to be a big one! When she finally reeled it in, Danny whistled in admiration.

"Whoa! Look at that! She's a beaut!" He said, unhooking the large sea bass she'd just caught. After putting it in the cooler, they fished for a while longer. After they had caught two others, Mandy decided to take a break.

She stared out over the beautiful lake, completely at peace for the first time since the fire. She sat closer to Danny and leaned against him slightly, and even though it may have looked weird to others since they'd recently met, she wasn't uncomfortable with it. "Thank you, for letting me stay. I didn't know where else I could go, and I didn't want to go into foster care. Really, thanks. Even if I've only been here for a little while I think I'm going to like it here." She said.

He smiled and put his arm around her, and did it in such a way that she felt fine when he did. "You're welcome. And I'm glad to hear that."

They sat like that for a while, until Stephanie came back with Sam, Billy, and Charlie. "Hey-Ho! We're back with a load!" Billy said loudly.

They turned to see the four of them each holding small baskets full of berries. It was almost lunch time by now, and it was time to pack things up and head home.

"Alright everyone, we'll be leaving soon so pack your things here while I go get Justin and Jason." Stephanie said.

"What did you catch Mandy?" Billy asked curiously, peeking into the cooler as they gathered their things. He grimaced and held his nose. "Yuck! I forgot how bad fish smell."

Mandy grinned a little and showed him the large fish she'd caught. "That one."

"Wow! Danny, that's a big one! We went and picked berries! There were-" he was cut off by Charlie.

"Strawberries and blackberries, and blueberries too!" She said excitedly, ignoring Billy's pout.

"Don't interrupt your brother." Stephanie admonished, coming back with the two boys.

Charlie nodded and sat next to Mandy with her basket. "Want some?" She asked as she shoved a couple in her mouth and got blackberry juice all over her face.

Mandy chuckled, but tried one. "Wow, these are really good! I love blackberries."

"Heeey Charlie! Look, a worm!" Billy teased as he dangled it in front of her face. "Now you have to eat it!"

She whined and tried to get away. "Noooo! Eeew gross! Stephaniiiie! He won't stop with the worm!"

Jason stepped in before she could. "Billy, pass me the worm." He said.

The boy sighed and handed it over. "Now you have to eat it!" He said, suddenly brightening.

Jason grinned. "Nah, I won't eat it." He said. "I'm gonna wear it as a worm-stache." He put the worm on his upper and puckered to hold it there.

The kids giggled as he wore it for a moment before he took it off and threw it into the lake. Soon, everything was loaded into the car and everyone was in.

"Hey, how does KFC sound for lunch?" Danny asked.

"Wooooo!" Everyone cheered, except Justin.

With the radio blasting they drove off, everyone happy that they'd had a good time. Mandy smiled contentedly as she watched the landscape zoom past her. Living here was going to be great.


	5. What do they look like?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See what the characters look like, actually a close representation.

[](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Faalomacastelo%2Fhandsome-mans%2F&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNEZWyF39iA4nMU5lGtju2E2rqG5qA&ust=1453941042309149) 

**Daniel Evans**

**[ ](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F574912708654464947%2F&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNGjSg-rq50ef9yVk9Rt74-aksjb-Q&ust=1453941184622415) **

**Stephanie Evans**

**[ ](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjIlNLn38jKAhVFTSYKHT4jBgEQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F502995852104295646%2F&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNGo1XoqdwKA5qsNxqrjEN1olTZnZA&ust=1453941365624453) **

**Jason**

**[ ](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjYkO-I4MjKAhXK6yYKHXHtBxIQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdepositphotos.com%2F12480176%2Fstock-photo-pretty-afro-teen.html&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNFMZp-YkHCpj0p4d-iU4jvGevtWmw&ust=1453941431958127) **

**Sam**

**[ ](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiY7rrE4MjKAhWF7yYKHWAlD68QjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.worthyofpublishing.com%2Fchapter.asp%3Fchapter_ID%3D22419&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNF4VpRc_eb1CxLMwbT8Lq9Xk_veXg&ust=1453941557337918) **

**Mandy**

**[ ](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alamy.com%2Fstock-photo-teen-girl-dark-brown-hair-34499773.html&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNEuo7tmXhMtGABfRzYERKfA4xTVIA&ust=1453941680904239) **

**Emily**

**[ ](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiYjNvN4cjKAhWBUCYKHVkTDdkQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sodahead.com%2Fliving%2Fis-goth-the-same-as-emo%2Fquestion-1782107%2F&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNGZbKzABnGyqqaUBK99cLZe19Vstg&ust=1453941820036443) **

**Justin**

**[ ](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mjemagazine.com%2Fsix-year-old-girl-with-cancer-leaves-behind-unbelievable-messages%2F&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNFvRk9FuVrSk5AbC1OFttJCycbpuA&ust=1453941880835945) **

**Charlie**

**[ ](http://ditmasparkcorner.com/blog/crime/nypd-seeks-publics-help-in-finding-marlo-young) **

**Billy**

[ ](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjIlNLn38jKAhVFTSYKHT4jBgEQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F502995852104295646%2F&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNGo1XoqdwKA5qsNxqrjEN1olTZnZA&ust=1453941365624453)

[ ](https://www.google.com.pr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjIlNLn38jKAhVFTSYKHT4jBgEQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F502995852104295646%2F&bvm=bv.112766941,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNGo1XoqdwKA5qsNxqrjEN1olTZnZA&ust=1453941365624453)


	6. Nightmares and Cares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandy has a nightmare.

Mandy gasped and jerked awake, her breathing ragged and forehead damp with sweat two nights later, and tonight it was raining. She sat there in shock for a moment, before her she curled up in the fetal position and wept silently, traces of her horrible nightmare dancing around her head....teasing her....tormenting her. She'd dreamt herself in her house with her parents, cuddled up with them and watching TV when suddenly the news came on showing a house fire, their house fire. In the dream she'd glanced back at her parents, only to see their skin start to burn and tear as if an invisible flame was eating at them. Their cries filled her ears, their images unbearable to behold for even a moment. She covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly before letting out her own glass-piercing shriek.

When she opened her eyes again, she was in front of her house which had finally been consumed by fire and was burning steadily. She stared up at the glowing, terrifying, dangerous display that flickered before her, tears streaming down her cheeks as the world around her turned to darkness. The light from the burning house had vanished, along with the building itself. She felt as if she were falling, falling down a tunnel that would never end, like Alice in wonderland. Except this tunnel was pitch black, not full of odd whimsy. Through the wind gushing past her, she managed to make out a voice. Unfamiliar, but a voice just the same. It spoke only three words, growling them with such _vehemence_ , such _rage_ , such _determination_ that Mandy thought she would have died right then. Those three words still rang clearly in her head, over and over again.

_"YOU. WILL. BURN."_

Now she lay curled up her bed, body shaking with harsh, silent sobs and face aching from the sheer force of her cries. This went on for a whole ten minutes, and Mandy thought she'd never be able to sleep again or ever stop her tears. Crying is alright in its way of course, but after a while one must stop and figure out what to do. She pulled herself out of bed and went to the bathroom, dabbed her burning eyes with a wet towel and splashed her face with water. Had she actually heard that voice in the past? Or had her subconscious just made it up? She looked at herself in the mirror and gripped the sink, and took several slow deep breaths. After a few minutes, she forced herself to think about how fun yesterday was and decided to get something to drink before trying to get back to sleep.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded through the house. She jumped, her heart beating like a humming bird. She took a few deep breaths again and tried to steady herself as she realized it had only been thunder. It crashed again, more distant this time. Then it started to rain, and so much so that it gave off that slight hissing sound it made when it was coming down hard. She shivered and suddenly realized how cold it was as the rain persistently tapped its fingers on the roof above her.

Mandy had just gotten downstairs, having used her phone as a light when she thought she'd heard someone in the kitchen. She froze for a moment before she rolled her eyes at her fear and walked inside. As soon as she did thunder crashed again and lit up a silhouette of a man in front of her. She gasped and dropped her phone, her tired and frightened mind making her think it was the man from her dreams who'd spoken to her.

Surprisingly, the person's silhouette jumped and the kitchen light was immediately flicked on.

"Jason!" Mandy shrieked, first in relief, then in irritation. "You scared me half to death!"

He blinked a few times, then slowly smiled. "You scared me too! Sorry, I just got thirsty." He explained as he grabbed a glass.

"Me too..."

He grabbed her a glass too before looking up at her. He saw that her face was a little pink, her eyes puffy and wet, and her hair a mess as she stood there, shaking. "Hey, what happened? You okay?" He asked, going over and hugging her instinctively.

She gratefully accepted the hug and practically melted against his touch. "You're so warm." She mumbled.

"And you're so cold!" He said with amusement, even though she did feel like ice. "Wait here."

She huffed as she watched her source of warmth leave, then smiled when he tossed her a blanket that was draped over the couch. "Thanks." She said as she wrapped it around her.

"Sure. So, care to tell me what happened? If not I totally respect that, I just want to make sure you're okay."

Mandy beamed at the fact that he care. He was caring, really nice, and he could easily make her laugh. It was fun to tease and joke around with him. Ever since the thriller dance, they'd liked each other and became friends. "I'll tell you, and thanks again for...well I guess for caring." Her smile disappeared as she told him about the horrible nightmare. As she did, tears spilled from her eyes, and she bit her lip to keep herself from crying again. She didn't want to cry in front of him, they'd only just become friends and she didn't want him to think of her as a crybaby or anything like that.

Thankfully, he didn't and she found herself in his arms again. "Wow. I'm sorry about that." He sympathized. "And it's okay to cry you know, since you saw me get all teary when I told you what happened to my parents."

She looked up at him as he spoke, then nodded and let her tears fall before she hid her face in his chest until what little tears she had left were shed. "Sam said you were a hugger." She said once she'd calmed down.

He stopped hugging her and filled their cups with water. "We all kind of are to be honest." He chuckled. "Except Justin of course. Here."

"Thanks." She drank the water greedily, not realizing just how thirsty she was.

"What's your middle name?"

"Huh?"

"I was just curious."

"Lynn. My full name is Amanda Lynn Hendricks. The kids at school used to call me Amanda Lynn, which sounded like a Mandolin, the instrument." She smiled a bit at the memory. "What's yours?"

"Paul. Jason Paul Williams."

"Paul doesn't suit you."

"I know." He glanced at the kitchen clock. "Whoa, I didn't realize how long we've been down here! We'd better get back to bed."

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired."

The dishes were put in the sink, the lights turned off and the two headed upstairs.

"Goodnight Jason, and thanks again."

"You're welcome. Goodnight, Lynn."

Mandy smiled. Had he just given her a special nickname? She secretly hoped so, because she'd always wanted a friend who was like a nice older brother. Even though they hadn't known each other for more than six days now, she new that they were heading towards the whole brother/sister dynamic. Once she reached her doorway and was about to head back to her bed with hopes of no more nightmares, she heard a whimper. It was quiet, but loud enough for her to hear. She followed as it continued, and found herself in front of Charlie's door.

She slowly entered and called out softly. "Charlie? Charlie, it's Mandy." She said, thankful she didn't sound stuffy and sick anymore.

Charlie turned on the lamp beside her on its stand, adjusting the light so it was the dimmest and least offensive to her eyes. She stared up at the older girl with wide, frightened eyes. "M-Mandy?"

Mandy walked over to the bed and stood there a moment, as if asking permission to comfort her. Charlie seemed to sense this and tugged at her wrist urgently, causing the older girl to sit down next to her. Immediately Mandy picked her up and held her in her lap, cuddling her close as the frightened little thing whimpered as more thunder struck. Dismissing the thought of going back to bed, Mandy focused on the child in her arms, willing to do anything to calm her down. She didn't know what it was about Charlie, but she instantly cared for her. Deeply. Perhaps it was because she was the first person she met other than Danny and Stephanie and because Charlie been the one to comfort her when she'd first arrived.

"Hey, can you listen to me a second?" She asked, her voice calm and soothing.

Charlie stayed in her lap but moved back enough to look at her.

"Storms are just terrible, aren't they?"

Charlie nodded rapidly.

"Well, they're not as terrible as you might think. See, the angels in heaven are just bowling. And thunder happens each time their bowling balls hit the pins." Mandy explained knowingly, remembering that she used to be told the exact same thing when she was a kid.

Charlie cocked her head. "Really? Then what's the rain?" She asked curiously, sounding a lot less scared.

Mandy couldn't help grinning. "The rain is the tears of the clumsy angels who drop the balls on their toes. Ouch!" She suddenly cried, imitating the angels.

Charlie giggled loudly. "Ouch!" She echoed.

Mandy laughed and hugged her tightly. "Feeling better?" She asked.

"Uh-huh! You know, you're actually really good at cuddles!"

"Me? Good at cuddles? No way! Looks like you've got competition, Captain."

"Competition? Nuh-uh! I will crush you!"

"I thought we were supposed to be cuddling, not crushing."

"Oh yeah."

Mandy chuckled and gave her one last squeeze before letting go, much to Charlie's protest. "Sorry, but it's waaaaay past both of our bedtimes. I'll tuck you in if you want."

"Be slow!" Charlie suddenly blurted as she was tucked in.

"What?"

"Be slow, I like being tucked in really slow!"

"What does that have to do anything?"

"I just...don't want you to leave."

Mandy sighed. She actually wanted to go back to bed now and get some sleep, but at the same time she didn't want to leave Charlie alone since she was so scared. She was snapped out of her thoughts as an especially loud clap of thunder hit the ground and made her jump. Finally, out of tiredness she made a decision. "Okay, I'll tell you what. Tonight, you can come sleep in my bed with me. That way we both won't be scared."

"Really?" The little girl asked hopefully.

"Yes, but just this once. Come on."

Charlie held her hand and walked with her to the other room, dragging her teddy along with her.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Mandy couldn't help smiling when she saw the little sleeping angel next to her. She got out of bed and pulled the covers back over her, allowing her to sleep for a few extra minutes as she got ready. Today she wore a simple black shirt and jeans and had thrown her hair into a ponytail.

"Time to get up!" She called cheerfully as she put on her black converse sneakers.

Charlie groaned and pulled the covers over her head, and in response Mandy snatched them off.

"Hey!"

"I said it was time to get up."

Grumbling and yawning, Charlie eventually got out of bed and went back to her own room.

When Mandy got downstairs, she found Sam and Justin at the table arguing.

"Come on, you have to and you're going to eat!" She ordered.

Justin glared at her. "You're not the boss of me!"

"Yeah, you're right, I'm not." She said.

He smirked.

"Danny and Stephanie are." She said. "And if you don't eat I'm telling."

"You're such a snitch." He grumbled.

She scowled at him, her eyes narrowing to slits. "Oh yeah? At least I'm not like you, a b-"

"Hey guys!" Mandy interrupted purposefully.

They stared at her, surprised.

"How long have you been there?" Sam asked.

"Long enough." Mandy said as she walked over to the fridge and pulled out two sparkling waters. She handed one to Sam and said, "Justin, you don't have to eat if you don't want to. Danny and Stephanie will catch on quickly and get you for it eventually. If they don't, then go ahead and do whatever you want. Even though I don't see your reason why, it's none of my business."

Justin smirked again and nodded. "That's right."

Then she turned to Sam and said, "You're wasting your breath. Let him do what he wants. He'll get the consequences soon enough you know. Actions are like a boomerang, and they always come back to you. Can't say you didn't warn him though. Come on, let's go."

The girls headed up to Sam's room after they grabbed some granola bars and apples. They sat on Sam's bed and ate their breakfast.

"So....what do we do now?" Mandy asked.

Sam sighed. "Well, it's Saturday. We did most of the cleaning yesterday so there's not much to do today. Gosh I'm bored. We've already done our chores so there's not much else to do."

"Can't we watch TV or something?"

"Not unless we ask. Danny and Stephanie aren't really keen to us being absorbed into electronics ALL the time like regular teens."

"Oh, they're those kinds of people?"

"Yeah, but we do use plenty of electronics so don't worry. They just control it so we're not using them for five or six hours at a time."

"Where's Jason?"

"He likes to go out for runs in the mornings."

"Oh."

"You know, if I didn't live with him and he wasn't like my brother I'd be all over him." Sam grinned.

Mandy snorted. "You're disgusting. He's like a brother to you?" She asked.

She was slightly disappointed, thinking that she was the only one who had the brother/sister relationship with him.

"Well yeah! Except we're more like the siblings in the movies, we tease each other a lot and fight more. Other than that we care for each other, and hug once in a while cause he's a hugger like I said but nothing more than that."

"Hmm..."

"What?"

"Well I'm just wondering if I should tell you something..."

"Tell me!"

"Promise you won't be offended or anything?"

"Promise."

Mandy went on to tell her about all of the events of last night, everything except what the nightmare was about. She wasn't ready to talk about it again, yet.

Sam whistled. "Sounds like you had a pretty rough night. I'm glad Jason could help you out though!"

"Thanks! So, I'm just curious but would it be strange if someone in a group home fell in love with another person staying there?"

"Why? Are you in love?" Sam teased.

Mandy flicked her playfully. "No, don't be dumb. I'm just wondering."

"In my opinion? I don't think it's that strange. The family relationship isn't required, so I think people can have some people who are like friends, others like family, and one other person can be their romantic interest."

"You ever had a guy?"

"Not really, maybe a crush here and there but nothing serious. David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston were a few of my celebrity crushes!"

"Same here! They're so hot! Chris Hemsworth is my dream trophy husband."

They laughed. Once they calmed down the laid in silence for a few minutes until Mandy spotted a black leather bound journal sticking out from the bed.

"What's this?" Mandy asked, picking it up.

Sam took it from her. "It's my journal of fanfictions." She giggled. "I don't have a computer, so I just write them by hand. I'll show you a few later."

Mandy nodded. "Okay, cool! Well, I don't know about you but I wanna go exploring. Wanna come?

"Sure, why not? I'll show you around. Just let me ask Danny first."

When Sam came back, her eyes were wide and she looked as if she might be sick.

"What happened?"

"I knocked on the door, and Danny had just woken up. He answered it, in just his boxers."

Mandy raised an eyebrow. "So what? Everyone girl has seen their Dad or some male relative in boxers at least once."

Sam shook her head. "No, no, you don't understand. They. were. tented. And I heard Stephanie giggling in the background."

Mandy burst out laughing. "Oh! Oh man, that is disgusting!" She giggled as Sam looked even more horrified at her reaction. "Why were you even looking down there anyway?" She snickered.

Sam blushed and sputtered. "I wasn't! I didn't! I wouldn't! Ugh! I didn't do it on purpose! It's kind of hard to avoid anyway, especially when it's sticking out like that!"

Mandy went into hysterics.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Billy was in the backyard weeding the garden, hoping to have the whole place finished by the time Stephanie woke up so it would be a nice surprise for her in addition to him getting all his other chores done already. Just as he was working on the sunflowers, Charlie skipped into the backyard. He waved and continued to work. She watched him for a moment before starting to work with him, much to his annoyance.

"Hey!"

"What? I'm bored."

"I'm weeding the garden as a surprise for Stephanie! Go away!"

"No! I wanna weed now! And it's my garden too! Not just yours!"

He scowled and threw a weed at her. "Go away! You'll ruin everything!"

She threw one back. "Nuh-uh! You go away!"

He grabbed his little plastic red watering can that he'd left out and dumped it's water on her head.

Charlie shrieked. She grabbed it from him and tried to do the same with what was left but he smacked the watering can out of her hand.

She gasped. "You're in big trouble! I'm telling!"

He folded his arms. "So are you!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"I'm Stephanie's favorite, so you'll be getting in trouble. Not me!" She crowed.

He rolled his eyes. "You're not anyone's favorite. Danny and Stephanie said they love us all the same."

She smirked. "Oh yeah? Well, I'm Mandy's favorite!"

"Mandy? How come you're her favorite? And how do you know?"

"We cuddled, and last night I sleeped in her bed with her during the storm!" She bragged.

Billy scowled and stomped off after she threw his watering can at his head. He gave up on surprising Stephanie with the garden being de-weeded because he knew Charlie was going to take most of the credit for it like she usually did. And she was Mandy's favorite? That was not good news. Stephanie said no one should play favorites in this house, and he was going to make sure of that.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam and Mandy walked past the backyard after Billy had gone inside. They walked towards an area a little ways off where trees lined the babbling brook and birds sang happily.

Mandy smiled in awe. "Wow. This place, is so gorgeous." She said.

"I know right? Despite me not being an outdoors person, I love coming here a lot. Come on! Let's get our feet wet." She said. She towards the bank with Mandy following close behind.

Mandy frowned. "I picked a bad day to wear jeans."

"Just roll them up dumbo!" Sam said, quickly taking off her shoes and socks.

Mandy playfully stuck her tongue out at her but did so anyway and soon the two were splashing each other.

"Eek! This water is freezing!" Mandy gasped, protecting her face from another splash.

Sam nodded. "I know right? Isn't it awesome?"

"You like the cold? You're crazy!"

After a minute or two more of splashing, they calmed down and began to skip rocks.

"Can I tell you something?" Mandy asked as she watched her rock skip one, two, three times before it sank.

"Sure."

"I didn't want to tell you earlier because I felt it was too soon, but I want to tell you now. It's what my nightmare was about last night."

"I would have waited too, so no worries there. What was it about?"

Mandy sighed and retold the dream quickly. "And the last thing I heard was this voice, super angry, raspy, and just awful. It said, YOU. WILL. BURN." She explained, trying to imitate the voice.

Sam's eyes widened. "Whoa. Intense. Do you recognize the voice?"

"No."

"Maybe it's a warning or something. Maybe you'll burn just like your parents!" Sam blurted. As soon as the words left her mouth she clamped her hand over her mouth. "Oops. Sorry." She mumbled. "I just thought...ugh...sometimes I say whatever comes to mind."

Mandy looked at the water and didn't say anything.

Sam bit her lip. "I'm sorry, really sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry about it, it's okay."

Sam tried to change the subject. "Um....sometimes I like to write songs."

"Really? Like what?"

She grinned. "This is one of by favorites, Hummingbird heartbeat! Ahem. Come on baby, give me a treat. I want you to give me a hummingbird heartbeat. Look into my eyes and tell me what you see, cause I see us, just you and me. When I see you I've got a heartbeat like a hummingbird, or like a fast stampeding herd. Just listen baby, I'll say the word. Then give me what I want and make my heart like a hummingbird.

Ha-ha-ha-hummingbird, heart buh-buh-buh-beat. You know just what to say, or I'll spread my wings and fly away. Give me nectar, give me flowers, make our dates go on for hours. Ha-ha-ha. Buh-buh-buh-baby.

Before you, my life was a bore. Now you make me soaaaaar, like never befooooore! Oh baby, give me a treat. I want you to give me a hummingbird heart beat! We'll beat together, flying in the air forever. Promise you won't stray, please, please, staaaaaay! Just stay....and give me a hummingbird heartbeat." She sang.

Mandy was impressed. "Wow! You sing awesome!"

"Thanks! The song's still a work in progress."

"Who was it about?"

"A friend of mine asked me to write it for him so he can serenade his girlfriend."

"Aw, that's so cute! Hey, want to learn how to climb a tree?"

"Huh?"

Mandy was gone!

"Mandy? Mandy where are you?"

"UP HERE!"

Sam looked up and grinned as she saw Mandy wave from the top of the tree.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Billy sat in his room, arms folded and lip stuck out in an A-class pout. He grabbed some of his legos that were nearby and began throwing them across the room. "Stupid Charlie!" He grumbled.

A moment later, Jason came in, having just showered after coming back from his run. He wore a long sleeved light blue T-shirt and dark jeans. "Hey buddy. What's eating you?" He asked, shutting the door as he came in.

Billy huffed and threw another lego, this time at Jason. Luckily, he missed.

"Hey." Jason warned. "Don't."

Billy scowled and grabbed the whole box of legos and threw it to the floor.

"Billy! Stop."

The little boy threw more legos at him. "NO!"

"Either you stop throwing a tantrum and tell me what's going on so I can help you or I'll just go tell Danny and Stephanie." He said.

Under Jason's glare, Billy gave in a began to sulk. "I'm sorry." He muttered.

"Good. It's alright. Now, go and pick up the legos, then we can sit and talk about what's bothering you. Okay?"

"Okay."

Once the legos were put away, Billy sat across from Jason on his bed. He explained the whole situation that had happened with Charlie in the garden. "And then she started bragging how she was Mandy's favorite, just because she got to sleep in her bed when she was scared! It's not fair!" He whined.

Jason nodded. "Well, you haven't really spent much time with Mandy."

"I know, but Charlie-"

"Charlie will get what's coming to her, don't worry. And anyway, I think if you just spent time with her then things would work out. I know she's not the kind to play favorites, I'm pretty sure. If she was, she'd ignore everyone except for one person." Jason said. "And as for you, your rudeness to her, throwing things at her, and dumping water on her was wrong. You could have asked her nicely to leave and if she didn't you could have went and told someone." He scolded. "I really should go tell right now."

Billy whined. "Please don't! I'm sorry! Please, please, don't tell! I don't wanna get in trouble!"

"I won't tell if you go apologize to Charlie after staying here and thinking about what you've done."

"Okay...and...what does Mandy like to do?"

"What?"

"I wanna spend time with her so we can do something we both like."

"As far as I know she likes outdoorsy things, crafts, music and dancing. Hey! I have an idea! Why don't you teach her how to make your super awesome tower of towers? I'll bet she's never done that."

"Yeah! Where is she?"

"Last I heard, she was down by the river with Sam."

"Can you go get her? I have to stay here and think then go say sorry to Charlie."

"What's the magic word?"

"Abracadabra!"

"And?"

"Please?"

"Better. I'll be back." Jason said.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Jason walked down the stairs he decided he'd get both Mandy and Sam since it was nearing lunch time. When he got downstairs he noticed Justin in the kitchen, drinking water and wincing.

He clutched his stomach. "Stupid hunger! Why do you have to be so annoying and painful?" He hissed to himself, downing more of the liquid.

Postponing his trip to fetch the girls, he went to the kitchen and crossed his arms.

Justin raised and eyebrow. "What do you want? I didn't do anything, so back off." He snapped.

"Don't lie." Jason said.

"I'm not."

"Yeah you are."

"How am I lying?"

"You've been skipping meals again."

"So what? I don't do it that often since we have almost all our dumb meals together."

"That doesn't matter! When are you ever going to learn? You have to eat!"

"Shut up, you don't understand anything about me!"

"Don't give me attitude."

"What are you? My dad?"

"No, but I deserve respect. And I'm worried about you."

"Why don't you worry about yourself for once?!?"

Jason glared at him. "Okay enough. I'm telling Danny."

Justin swore.

"You're just making things worse."

"UGH!"

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Caw! Caw!" Mandy crowed stupidly, sitting on the branch of a tree. "Caw! Caw!" She called to Sam, who had learned how to climb quickly and was in the tree across from her.

"That's not how you do it!" Sam hollered, then imitated a screeching eagle.

Mandy giggled.

"ROAAAAR!"

The two girls shrieked and clung to their trees tightly, then looked down.

"JASON! You scared us!" They shouted.

He laughed as they climbed down.

"What is it?" Sam demanded. "We were having a perfectly good time until you showed up." She teased.

He smirked. "Well excuuuuse me, princess!"

Mandy snorted. "Really though, what is it?"

"It's getting a little late, so you two should be heading back for lunch. And Mandy? Billy really wants to hang out with you. Charlie's been bragging, and I think he's jealous."

"Jealous? Aw, how cute!"

"Not all the time."

Mandy shrugged, then grinned. "RACE YOU!" She shouted, dashing back towards the house with the others following close behind.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Starving yourself?!? Again?!?" Danny asked, throwing his hands in the air in frustration as they came into his and his wife's bedroom.

Stephanie was upset too. "You were doing just fine until now! How many times do we have to go over this?" She demanded.

Justin glared back at them defiantly. "You told me you wouldn't get mad."

She shook her head. "I never said that, and neither did he. We have talked to you about this over and over again, and we have tried to help you and get you to talk to us more about it but when you keep doing it over and over we have every right to be angry! We are not going to sit around doing nothing while you harm yourself! We love you too much to do that! And if it means having to punish you to keep you from hurting yourself, then so be it!"

He rolled his eyes. "You're just saying that. **** you!"

"That's the second time you've sworn today! You know what? I think it's time you had another mouth washing boy! You know I do NOT tolerate that kind of language in this house!" Danny said, his tone steely and definitely unhappy.

Justin mumbled something under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Mandy is so much better about this than everyone else!"

"Oh? How so?" Stephanie asked, caught a little off guard.

He folded his arms. "Well earlier today she said I didn't have to eat if I didn't want to. She said my consequences would catch up with me eventually and there was no point in stopping me."

"And she was right! You consequences are catching up to you!" She snapped.

Danny nodded. "You, are grounded from music for an entire week. And you're getting a mouth washing."

"WHAT? A WEEK?" Justin shouted. His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. "Music is my life! You can't do this to me!!!"

"Don't you talk to us that way! And it's happening whether you like it or not!"

"Just because I didn't eat for a day and a half?!? How does that balance with one week?"

"It's what we decided, and hopefully the longer time will get the message through to you. Now come with me." Danny ordered.

"No." Justin said stubbornly.

Without hesitation Danny grabbed his arm and dragged him to the their bathroom, sitting him on the toilet lid as he prepared the soap. "We've done this more times than I can remember. When are you going to learn to control that mouth of yours young man?"

Justin simply glared at the wall until he was taken to the sink. He opened his mouth without fight, just wanting to get it over with. He gagged as the awful soap intruded his mouth.

"After we're done here, I want you to tell me, why. Why do you starve yourself? Why do you try to harm yourself?" Danny asked, making sure to be thorough and trying to follow through with what he said. Of course, he was quite upset with Justin, but that didn't make punishing him much easier. "You're thirteen! You should know better to talk that way to anyone!" He scolded, finishing up. "Rinse."

Justin hacked and coughed, desperately trying to get the awful stuff out of his mouth. Once he was done, he glared at Danny with tears shining in his eyes. "Why? You want to know WHY?!?!?" He shouted. "BECAUSE I DON'T DESERVE TO! "MY DAD HAD SEX WITH SOME STREET WHORE AND THEN SHE HAD ME! HE HATED ME BECAUSE OF MY DISABILITY OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT AND HE WAS REALLY ABUSIVE AND HE SAID I DIDN'T DESERVE TO EAT AND THAT I WAS A MISTAKE AND THAT HE HATED ME!" He shouted, then burst into tears before running out and to his room.

Stephanie chased after him, managing to get in before his door was locked. Danny didn't make it in time, so he stood outside the door and waited.

When Justin had arrived at their group home, he was twelve years old. Danny and Stephanie were chatting out on the front porch when an old white truck drove up and out stepped a man who looked sick. He went to the other side of the car, dragged the kid out and threw him onto the porch.

"YOU JUST BE GLAD I LEFT YOU IN CIVILIZATION! YOU'LL BE LUCKY IF THESE PEOPLE EVEN LET YOU INSIDE YOU PIECE OF TRASH! YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO HUMANITY AND TO ME!" The man yelled. Then he slapped the boy across the face.

"HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Danny shouted. He stepped in front of the boy protectively.

The man swore,ran back to his truck, and drove off before Danny could do anything else.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he heard that the crying had finally calmed down and Stephanie let him inside. They stayed with Justin and talked with him, comforting him and trying to convince him that he was the exact opposite of what his father had always told him, and that his 'disability' was not a problem at all.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Almost as soon as Mandy, Sam and Jason entered the house, Billy came running downstairs.

"Mandy! Mandy! Mandy!" He cheered.

"Billy! Billy! Billy!" She echoed. "What is it?"

"You like making things, right?" He asked hopefully.

She grinned, waving to the other two as the little boy led her to his room. "I sure do!" She answered.

He pulled her hand a little harder and practically ran to his room.

She sat down on the floor and waited as he rummaged around his toys. "What is it?" she asked.

Billy dragged out a box of blocks, rainbow ones to be precise. "I'm gonna show you how to make my Super Awesome Tower of Towers!" He announced.

Her eyes widened comically. "Oh wow!" She gasped dramatically. "I've never made one of those!"

The blocks were dumped on the floor, and then sorted into colors.

"What do we do first?" Mandy asked.

"First, we take the purple ones and make a big square. Then blue, then green, yellow, orange, and red!"

"Like a rainbow?"

"Yeah!"

They built the purple and blue sections quickly, and as they worked on the green, Billy couldn't help but ask. "Mandy? Do you play favorites?"

"What? No! Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Charlie said she was your favorite."

Mandy shook her head. "Well, she was wrong. I don't play favorites. I care for everyone here just the same."

 Billy smiled, then gasped. "Uh-oh! Watch out! It's gonna fall! It's gonna fall!"

Mandy held the tower steady as he helped adjust it. "Whew! That was a close one!"

"I thought you were good at making things!"

"Hey!"

Billy giggled and playfully stuck his tongue out at her, and Mandy couldn't help but do the same.

Just then, Charlie came in and ran over to Mandy, hugging her tightly. "MANDY! You're back!" She shouted happily.

Billy scowled.

"Yeah, hi Charlie."

"Ooh, are you building a tower? Can I build too?" She asked.

Taking note of the other kid's irritated expression she shook her head. "Sorry, but I'm playing with Billy now. You and me got to cuddle and be with me last night, so now it's his turn to be with me." She explained nicely, watching as the little girl frowned and pouted. "We'll play later, okay? Why don't you go see Sam?"

She stuck out her bottom lip and pulled her cutest pout. "Please can I play?" She pleaded, batting her eyelashes.

"Of course you can!" Mandy said, and Charlie brightened. "Later." She frowned again.

She looked to Mandy, who's expression was neutral, and then to Billy who was grinning from ear to ear. She huffed and stomped out, leaving the two to finish their tower.

"Thanks!" Billy said gratefully, starting to stack the yellow blocks.

"No problem. So, what's your favorite color of the rainbow?"

"I like red and blue, but I like all the rest too! I even know a song about them! Red is one of the colors of the rainbow, red is the color of something red, red is the color of a crayon! Red, rhymes with red! Yellow is one of the colors of the rainbow, yellow is the color of something yellow, yellow is the color of a crayon! Yellow, rhymes with yellow!" He sang loudly.

"Cool song! My favorite is-"

"Green is one of the colors of the rainbow! Green is the color of something green, green is the color of a crayon! Green rhymes with green!" He continued.

Mandy shook her head and half smiled. Since she figured he wouldn't stop until they did the whole rainbow, might as well join in.

"Blue is one of the colors of the rainbow!"

Meanwhile, after Charlie had been playing hide and seek with Sam for a while downstairs, she got bored and then decided to go and find Danny and see if he'd play with her. She'd forgotten however, her fight with Billy earlier. He'd apologized to her and already gotten a time out from Jason, but she'd forgotten about that too. So as soon as she found Danny, she remembered everything and regretted going to find him.

She ended up with a firm talking to and her nose in the corner.


	7. Moonlight Mischief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandy and Justin try to get away with breaking the rules

Justin leaned against the large tree in the backyard, his eyes closed in thought. Night had just crept up and covered the sky, it's inky blackness contrasting beautifully with the little balls of white light called stars. He wore a long sleeved black shirt and jeans, forgetting his jacket and his hair in front of half of his face like usual. He watched silently as the clouds rolled by and the moon decided to grace him with her presence. She felt quite proud tonight, with the way she spread her bright beams all over the yard. He watched for about half an hour longer when the clouds came back, covering up the gorgeous display.

Then it started raining. It was light at first but it eventually turned into steady pouring. Despite the cold rain, he stayed where he was, just leaning against the tree. It was late, but he finally wasn't being bothered by the others. And being out here with the cold rain and the peace of the outdoors at night was much different and better than cooping himself up in his room. He closed his eyes again and relaxed further as the steady drumming of the rain filled his ears.

He thought about yesterday, about how Stephanie and Danny had consoled him. He was feeling a lot better about himself since then, though the things he went through weren't just going to be patched up immediately. It was going to take quite a while. Since then he'd stopped talking back and being rude, at least for now. He simply just stated his opinion, but in a more civil way.Things were better now, and he hoped it would stay that way.

He shivered. He was getting cold, but he didn't want to go inside yet. He needed this, needed time to be by himself and just not think for a while. Being outside of the house knowing no one was up at this time of night helped him relax and forget about being interrupted. He just needed to clear his mind of everything. He needed to get out of his room and relax, and he finally was. It was wonderful.

A few minutes later, be barely bit back a groan as he heard the back door being opened. He opened his eyes and peeked around the tree, the other person completely unaware of him.

 _'Mandy? What is she doing out here in this weather? Shouldn't she be in bed? Or crying over her parents?'_ He wondered.

She walked under a large black umbrella, wore a big hoodie and called someone on her phone.

"Emily? You awake?" She asked, putting the phone on speaker.

Emily giggled. "Of course I'm awake! Time for our monthly song!"

Justin watched with interest as Mandy grinned and played a song, the two starting to sing along.                                       

                                                              I found my way with bad directions

                                                     I've done my best, and I learned my lessons

                                                      And I know I can do this, again and again

                                              So, let it rain, just let it rain, just let it rain on me

                                             So, let it rain, just let it rain, just let it rain on me

                                                  Got a feeling of falling, like in a bad dream

                          What's the meaning, the calling, 'cause nothing is what it seems.

                    And I wont ever know, so I take the time, 'cause it wont stop taking mine

                                      I don't know what a winner is, but I want to be one.

                                       Would I ever really know, if I didn't get me some?

                                           'Cause I found my way with bad directions

                                           I've done my best, and I learned my lessons

                                              And I know I can do this, again and again

                                     So, let it rain, just let it rain, just let it rain on me

                                         What the signs are saying, over and over

                                                  If you fear it, you should face it

                                                 But my fear has the face of you.

                                                I want to make, make you proud

                                  Those the only words, that I care, care about

                             I don't know what a winner is, but I want to be one.

                                 Would I ever really know, if I didn't get me some?

                                    'Cause I found my way with bad directions

                                   I've done my best, and I learned my lessons

                                    And I know I can do this, again and again

                          So, let it rain, just let it rain, just let it rain on me

                        So, let it rain, just let it rain, just let it rain on me

                                           I see your face in the crowd

                                    All I want to do is make you proud

                                And they can say what they want

                       Those are the only words that I care about

                                      If I can't fight, I still stand,

                                    So you can see who I am

             Come gather 'round, quiet down, do you hear that sound?

                                        Just let it rain on me.

                                        Just let it rain on me.

                                        Just let it rain on me.

                                      Just let it rain on me.

                       I know I can do this, again and again

                So, let it rain, just let it rain, just let it rain on me

            So, let it rain, just let it rain, just let it rain on me

           So, let it rain, just let it rain, just let it rain on me

         So, let it rain, just let it rain, just let it rain on me.

 

At one point during their song and dance across the, Mandy slipped and fell, but Emily kept on singing. "Hold up! I just fell on my butt!"

"That's no big deal girl, you've got a huge bubble butt so it probably doesn't hurt."

"Hey! I do not!"

Justin bit back a laugh.

She shook her head, got up, and continued dancing, giggling with Emily as she began spinning around. She looked ridiculous, but she danced and laughed as if she didn't have a care in the world. When she fell for the second time, a loud snort accidentally escaped Justin's mouth. Mandy stopped for a moment and glanced around.

He froze, hoping she wouldn't-

"Justin?"

Emily gasped, still on speaker phone. "Justin who? Wait, is he there watching? STALKING?"

"What do you want?" He snapped, mentally cursing. "And NO I'm not stalking."

"What are you doing out here in the rain? Trying to catch hypothermia or something?" She asked as she sat next to him and adjusted the umbrella so it rested on the ground and hung over the two of them.

He scooted away from her. "No. The reason I'm out here isn't important."

"You're breaking curfew." She pointed out.

"So are you."

"I won't tell Danny and Stephanie if you won't."

"Fine."

He glanced at her as she pulled her knees up to her chest, shivering but smiling. "What were you doing? You looked really stupid out there."

She scoffed. "I used to sing and dance in the rain with my best friend Emily all the time, and still do when we see each other. We have a shared favorite song every month, and when it rains we sing and dance to it. Just once though, isn't that right Emily?"

"Right! That was fun Mandy, but I should go back to bed."

"Okay bye!"

"Bye!"

As soon as Emily hung up and went back inside her house, she could have sworn she heard someone in the room with her. She rolled her eyes and dismissed it before going back to her room.

Meanwhile, Justin scooted further away from Mandy as the awkward silence returned.

Thankfully, she stood up and yawned. "We should probably go back inside now. I hope I didn't make too much noise." She said, starting to get nervous.

"Okay. No one heard you, since most of us are heavy sleepers and you weren't singing that loudly." He said. "If you were caught though, you'd probably get in worse trouble than if you just stayed up past curfew. Sometimes if you just forget and Danny or Stephanie are with you they'll just send you off to bed with a warning to keep an eye on the clock next time. If you're up really late, they'll take away a privilege and make you go to bed earlier the next night. Though if you leave the house and it's really late, and probably especially since it's raining you'd get...well I think you already know the answer to that."

She frowned and nodded. She was more nervous now and was hoping that she would get away with it. "The same would happen to you then."

"Yeah, it would." Justin sighed and stood up. Since they'd sat under the umbrella, his clothes weren't dripping anymore but they were still quite damp. He watched in surprise as she took off her big hoodie and handed it to him. "What?"

"You're cold. Take it." She said.

He just stared at it, both confused and a little irritated. "No, I'm fine." He snapped.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever. At least give me your shoes and socks then."

"What? No!"

"Relax!" She said as she dried off the umbrella with the hoodie while they stood on the steps that led up to the back door. She handed it to him to hold for a moment before she slipped off her shoes and wrapped them in the hoodie. "See? Now the umbrella's dry and it won't drip, and our shoes won't leave mud or rain on the floor."

He handed her his shoes and socks without a word, still wondering why she was helping him. Then he figured she thought that he would rat her out if they got caught and was only helping so she wouldn't get in trouble. Once they snuck back inside, Mandy put the umbrella back in the holder with the others and made sure it looked just as it had before.

"Why did you respond the way you did about me not eating?" He suddenly whispered. He was genuinely curious. No one had ever responded to him skipping meals the way she had, and he wasn't sure whether to think that the response she'd given was mean or nice.

She sighed and turned to look at him as she held everything tightly in her arms. "Because I knew there was no point in arguing with you, based on what I saw and what people told me. It's not my job to scold or lecture you about it, so I mind my own business. You got what was coming to you eventually. You know what I mean?"

He nodded.

They tried to go back upstairs but Justin accidentally bumped the umbrella holder on his way up and barely caught it before it crashed to the ground. They both gasped, then barely kept themselves from cracking up. Justin smiled fully for the first time, at least it was the first time for Mandy. He chuckled, and she giggled quietly.

"It's late. We are not ourselves." She said. "Be sure to put it back correctly."

"No kidding! There! Happy?" He whispered sarcastically. His smile was gone and he had returned to his old self.

They went up the stairs at an agonizingly slow pace just to be sure they made as little noise as possible. Finally they made it upstairs and went in their rooms. Mandy went in hers as he continued on to his own room, but then poked her head out a second later. "Hey Justin." She whispered.

"What?" He asked quietly. He looked around for anyone who might catch them.

"You should smile more often." She said softly, smiling kindly.

His eyebrow that wasn't covered by his hair went up, but he didn't say anything. He simply nodded in acknowledgement and went on his way.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin had come down with a cold the next morning. Who wouldn't after getting soaked to the bone like that? He constantly blew his nose, talked funny, and switched between being feeling hot and cold. Even though he tried to hide it, Danny and Stephanie still noticed. Stephanie took care of him, got him his cold pills, and made sure he was alright while Danny kept an eye on everyone else. While Justin was resting in his room, Mandy was sprawled out on the couch as she flicked through the TV channels.Since she'd been smart and had worn a hoodie and brought an umbrella, she wasn't sick. She sighed and kept channel surfing until the news caught her eye. She gasped when she recognized the family on the screen. It was Emily and her parents! She turned the volume up and watched nervously.

"Last night the Andrews family had a break in. As you can see here, whoever broke in is far from amateur." The reporter explained, leading them to the door, where the master security system had been disabled and lock picked. "Surprisingly, nothing was stolen and no traces were left behind. The person did leave a note though and here it is."

Two pictures appeared on the screen, side by side. They showed a partially burnt paper with an angry uphill scrawl on each side. The first side read, 'YOU'RE NEXT.' and the second, 'YOU WILL BURN.' Emily and her parents came on camera, explaining that they'd slept through the entire thing.

Emily spoke up before the newscast ended, saying, "I did think someone was in the house last night, but I looked around and no one was there. I thought I was just being dumb and went back to bed. I guess I was wrong." She sighed. "Mandy, watch your back."

The family was terrified, thinking that whoever burned down her house was coming after them. Thankfully though, they were temporarily moving to a hotel for safety just in case. The newscast ended, cutting to commercial.

She sat there and stared dumbly at the screen. First her parents were murdered, and now her best friend and her family threatened? She took several deep breaths and decided not to worry. The Andrews had moved as far as they could and gone to a hotel, hoping that the pyromaniac wouldn't come or they could wait it out. She turned off the TV and went up to her room to go read. As she did, she saw Jason angrily barge into Sam's room.

"How many times have I told you to knock first?" She asked, annoyance clear in her tone.

He ignored her question. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

He folded his arms, scowling. "You know perfectly well what!"

"Uh, no I don't! Care to fill me in?" She asked sarcastically.

"You stole my favorite and Elvis CD!"

"No I didn't."

"Yeah, you did! No one likes Elvis except us!"

"And Mandy."

"She doesn't know I like him or have one of his CD's so it's not her." He explained as he started to look through her things.

"Hey! Leave my stuff alone! Get out!"

He scoffed. "Make me."

Sam started to push him put of the room. He resisted and pushed back. She pushed harder, using her fingernails scratch his arm harshly. He winced, but managed to shove her to the ground and make her bump her head on the chair she'd been sitting in before. They glared daggers at each other as they inspected their wounds, only to realize Danny had been standing in the doorway.

They both paled, when they saw him. They were in for it now.

"What on earth is going on here?" Danny asked sternly.

Jason gulped. "Um...how long have you been standing there?"

"Since you two started your little cat fight. I want you to tell me everything, right now." Danny ordered, his southern accent not having the usual happy tone to it.

They both reluctantly retold the story and watched as the man's expression got more and more displeased. When they were done, Danny had his arms folded and his eyebrows up.

"All that, over a darn CD? Good grief! Jason, I thought you were more mature than this." He scolded. "And Sam, what have I told you about your attitude?" He shook his head. "This is ridiculous! When will you to ever learn to stop fighting over everything?!? Jason you're eighteen, not five! You could have been mature and asked her calmly, then come get me if you still thought she had it! And you! Sam, you promised me you'd improve your terrible attitude, and I haven't seen any improvement whatsoever! I'm very disappointed in both of you! Now, did you steal his Elvis CD?"

"No."

"Alright then, I guess you won't mind if I take a look."

Danny looked under her bed, in her desk drawers, in her CD case, in her radio/CD player next to her bed, then the top shelf of her closet where it was hidden. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here." He said, pulling out the CD. "You _lied_   to me."

Jason gasped. "I knew it!"

"Quiet!"

Sam blushed and looked down at the floor in shame.

"Look at me.You have tons of CDs in that case of yours, so why steal hers?"

She didn't reply.

"Answer me."

"Because I lost my Elvis CD, and if I asked to borrow his he wouldn't have let me."

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "That's it. I'm taking all your CDs away, and yours too Jason. And Sam, for lying to me you're going to write me 200 lines saying, I will not lie or be dishonest."

"Line writing? Seriously? I'm not some grade-schooler!" She retorted, not having written lines in a while.

"You sure act like one. And watch the attitude." He warned.

She bit her lip and dared to ask, "How long will our stuff be taken away?"

"Three days. Oh, and since you two fought and hurt each other in the process you'll be missing out on dinner tonight as well."

"WHAT? That's so unfair!" They whined in unison.

Danny merely rolled his eyes and took Sam's case of CD's, then headed off to Jason's room to collect his.

Sam scowled and pulled out her special notebook she'd been given, specifically for writing lines. She grumbled and sat down at her desk, complaining under her breath as she started to write.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Billy and Charlie had seen Sam and Jason start to fight. They were the ones who'd told Danny. They almost never got away with anything, so why should everyone else? And of course, it was the right thing to do to get someone whenever there was a problem. Seeing how upset Danny was when he went back to his room, they agreed to be on their best behavior and not fight with each other. Except they didn't fight _all_   the time and actually did get along more than you'd think.

"I'm bored." Charlie whined as she lay sprawled out on the floor of her room next to Billy, having grown tired of playing Simon Says with him and Stephanie.

Stephanie knelt down next to them. "Why don't you make a get well card for Justin?"

"Yeah!" They agreed.

"You two get your markers and crayons, I'll get the paper."

"We can use the giant paper?" Billy asked, grinning hopefully.

"Sure!"

"Can we use glitter and glue too?"

She thought for a moment. "I don't see why not."

As soon as she came back with the paper, glue, and glitter, Justin called her from downstairs.

"I'll be right back to help you." She said.

She went downstairs, finding Justin in the kitchen. "Need something?"

"Where'd you put the cold pills? I can't find them."

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

She frowned as he took them. "I'm sorry you're sick honey." She said, feeling his forehead. "I don't know what could have caused this. No one's given it to you, you've been taking better care of yourself, so I don't see how you could have gotten sick. It's not even in season. Good news, no temperature! You should be fine tomorrow, or the day after. Are you hungry? I can fix you something to eat if you'd like." She said as she looked in the fridge, only to turn around and find that Justin had left.

 _'Or maybe it could have something to do with the rain last night...hmm.'_   She thought.

Justin bolted up the stairs to his room and slammed the door, wincing at the loud noise it made. He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down. He really hoped no one found out about what had happened last night. If they did find out that he and Mandy had stayed up past curfew and that he had purposely gotten rained on, they'd both be in big trouble. He'd probably get spanked, because staying up past curfew was a bad habit he had yet to break, and because of the rain. And Mandy would probably have a lighter punishment because she was still a bit new, at least that's what he thought. And not to mention, neither had fessed up about it so that might make things worse. He shivered and wrapped his blanket around him, hoping that what happened last night would never be brought up.

Meanwhile, Stephanie headed back upstairs to help the kids make the get well card. Billy and Charlie looked up at her, covered in glitter, having it all over their hands, arms, and hair. She laughed, and they kids giggling with her. "You two are so messy, you know that?" She chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll get it cleaned up later."

The two six year olds merely smiled and gave each other a sticky, glittery high five.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam finished her lines and slammed the notebook shut, groaning as she realized it would be suppertime soon. She went to Danny and Stephanie's room, knocked and held out the notebook.

"Finished." She said flatly.

Danny raised an eyebrow and flipped through the pages, inspecting all two hundred neatly written lines. He nodded. "Good. Thank you."

She scowled and headed back to her room with her head held high.

By the time supper rolled around, Jason and Sam were starving. Sam felt horrible. Not only because she was hungry, but also because she was ashamed and guilty. Danny's lecture echoed through her head as she sat in a tree, hanging her head in shame. Sure, she'd kept busy during the day with her chores, her books, and had played with Billy and Charlie, but that didn't ease the guilt much. So she'd retreated to her favorite tree by the little stream right next to their house, glad that Mandy had taught her how to climb it in the first place. She sighed and looked out over the stream and scenery before someone whistled loudly.

She looked to the other side, only to see Jason walking towards her and waving. Before she knew it, he had climbed the tree and was sitting next to her. "This is my tree." She mumbled.

He nodded. "I know, but I had to talk to you. I just wanted to apologize for hurting you and fighting with you."

"It's okay. And I'm sorry for stealing your CD, and for fighting with you too."

"It's fine."

They sat in silence for a few minutes until he spoke up. "I can see why you like it up here so much."

"Yeah." She sighed. "Man, I'm starving."

"Me too."

"Do you smell that?"

"Just barely, but it smells like...broccoli chicken casserole!"

"Aw man! The one time we miss dinner it has to be our favorite!"

They groaned.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later, once supper was finished and the sun had nearly finished setting, they got out of the tree and headed back to the house. After talking in the tree, they'd both agreed it was time they apologized. They went into the kitchen and found Danny doing the dishes. He stopped when he saw them and waited expectantly, looking disappointed. Each hesitated, not wanting to make eye contact and looking much like a puppy with it's tail between it's legs.

Jason started first. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting her and for fighting with her about it and for invading her privacy."

Sam nodded in agreement. "And I'm sorry for fighting with him about it, stealing his CD and lying to you about it."

"Did you apologize to each other?" Danny asked.

They nodded.

His expression softened. "I forgive you, now come here." He said.

They hugged, and instantly each felt better now that they'd been forgiven, even if they'd still miss their CDs for a little while.

"I love you both very much, like you're my own. And I only punish you because I do. Understand?"

"Yeah. We love you too."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Justin had been switching between sleeping and being awake all day, getting plenty of rest and managing to occupy himself. He'd had some soup for supper, and afterwards Billy, Charlie and Stephanie all came down stairs and went over to him.

"Hmm? What is it?" He yawned. "Stephanie, why do you have a camera? I look terrible."

Billy and Charlie bounced with excitement. "We made you a card!" They shouted, turning the big paper and revealing a messy, but cute card that said 'Get well soon Jusstin!' The corners of his mouth turned up, almost an actual smile.

"Thanks. That's really nice you two." He said.

"This will make a great addition to the family movie collection!" Stephanie giggled.

Justin groaned, though he wasn't being serious. "Aw man!"

Everyone laughed.  
  



	8. Good Old Fashioned Discipline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandy gets caught from breaking the rules last night and takes the punishment for Justin.

Mandy woke up late the next day at around ten to someone calling her name. She yawned and turned towards the door about to shout back a reply when it opened. She wasn't quite awake yet, she couldn't tell who it was until the person spoke again.

"Good Morning! You sure slept in late! Everyone else is already up and working." Stephanie said as she opened the curtains, flooding the room with garish, burning light.

Mandy groaned and hid under her covers, only to have them pulled off of her.

"Come on sleepyhead, you've slept in long enough. Today's white glove Saturday, so it'll be more than your regular chores."

She groaned even louder at that, but finally got out of bed. After quickly getting dressed, she went downstairs, grabbed a granola bar for breakfast and was assigned to sweep and mop the entire downstairs floor, clean her room, and the downstairs bathroom as well. She had tried to be on her best behavior since she'd gotten here, though as the days went on she became more comfortable with everyone there. Mandy still sort of felt like she was a guest and shouldn't have to help out very much, though that was not how things were. Even so she grabbed the broom and dustpan and got to work. As she swept she mentally complained about how much there was left to do. She herself didn't like chores, and would rather be upstairs reading, texting Emily or on the internet watching youtube on her phone. And it certainly didn't help to know that everyone else was almost done with their chores already.

She finished sweeping, then looked around for the mop and bucket. "Where's the mop and bucket?" She called out.

Danny was coming downstairs as she said that. "Oh good, you're up now. For your chores today and for all other Saturdays, you need to sweep and-"

Mandy cut him off. "Oh really? Wow, thanks. I clearly had no idea. Stephanie already told me and I was looking for the mop and bucket." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Danny's eyebrows shot up at her tone, but for now he didn't comment on it, figuring she was just tired and decided to let it slide this time. "They should be in the hall closet."

Mandy found what she needed and mopped the floor, telling everyone not to come downstairs. While the floor dried, she cleaned the downstairs bathroom, complaining to herself every few minutes. When the floor dried she finally got a chance to take out the trash and finish cleaning the bathroom.

"Stupid chores. Seriously, why didn't I wake up early? Ugh! And to make matters worse everyone else is already done by now! This is so dumb. Can't someone else do this instead?" She muttered.

"We all do our part Mandy, and I'd watch that tone if I were you."

She turned around to see Danny in the living room, only a few feet behind her, sitting in the leather recliner and reading a book. She huffed in response but nodded before she went to take out the trash. After a while she finally finished her chores, though she'd gotten several more warnings about her complaining and attitude. Mandy looked out the window of her bedroom, chatting with Emily through text. Outside in the back yard, Jason and Sam were chasing each other and saying something she couldn't make out. And she saw Justin, who wasn't sick anymore, walk off with Billy and Charlie. Grinning, she said goodbye to Emily and ran out to join them.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

It was a beautiful day to be outside. The sun was smiling and so was everyone else. A picnic had been backed so they could eat lunch outside today, and everyone was goofing off and having fun despite how childish they looked.

Mandy squealed as Jason chased after her.

"YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!" He shouted playfully.

She shrieked and ran faster as she circled around the yard. "Sam! Heeeeeeelp!"

Sam laughed as she watched the two run around like children. It was always fun running from Jason, and it usually ended in him tackling you and earning bragging rights of more strength all in good fun. "No way! It's much funnier to watch you try to run!" She called.

Jason grinned menacingly as he got closer, just about ready to tackle her when she suddenly made a sharp turn and bumped into him. He fell to the ground, giving her a chance to get away. Seeing that he was distracted, she darted towards the tree and climbed up it as fast as she could and barely managed to get away. "HA! Can't get me now!"

He'd gotten up and followed her, and much to her surpise he started climbing up after her. She grabbed an apple from the tree and threw it down on his head, trying to stop him.

"Ow!" He grunted, dropping back to the ground.

Sam chuckled, which got her a playful shove. "Attacking me now? This. means. WAR." She hugged him from behind, both arms tight around his stomach. "Don't worry Mandy! I'll immobilize him!"

His expression turned to one of horror as she realized what she was going to do. "Oh no. No! Don't-hahaha!" He laughed as she tickled him to the ground. He rolled away from her, still laughing. She followed. There was no way he was escaping her, especially when she was using one of his weaknesses against him.

Mandy climbed down from the tree and smirked as Sam continued to tickle Jason.

"Mahahandy! Help!" He giggled.

She smiled. "Don't think so. It's waaaay more fun to see you like this."

His laughter went up an octave as Sam attacked his knees.

"Surrender, or DIE!" She growled playfully.

"I surrender! I surrender!" He gasped, slumping into a heap when she finally stopped. He groaned however, when the girls started using their bragging rights.

"Ha-ha! We beat you! We beat you!" They chanted, dancing around him like a couple three year olds.

"Hey! They're supposed to be the kids around here guys." Justin said, coming up with Billy and Charlie.  from the nearby stream that led to the lake.

After a while they brought out the picnic. A large checkered blanket was spread across the grass, and a pitcher of lemonade, and a large picnic basket was brought out. Inside the basket were paper plates, cups, ham and tuna sandwiches, and carrot sticks. Everyone sat down and began eating, thankful that the weather was absolutely perfect for having a picnic. As they ate Mandy couldn't help but notice that Justin didn't seem as grumpy today, which was odd but she didn't comment on it.

They ate in silence for a few minutes until Sam suddenly gasped.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Guys, Stephanie said that Mandy, Charlie and I are going grocery shopping with her today and its you three next week. And best of all, tonight is Square Dance Movie night!" She said excitedly.

Everyone cheered, except for Mandy.

"Square dance movie night?" She asked.

Billy nodded. "Two times a month, we have one night where we have lots of junk food! Pizza, ice cream, stuff like that! Then after supper we do square dancing and later we stay up late and watch movies! It's really fun and I love it!"

"Sounds awesome! Can't wait until tonight then! It's so interesting learning about all your traditions." She remarked.

"Maybe you can help us make some new ones." Sam said, biting her sandwich. "Danny and Stephanie did this with their parents, so they want to continue the tradition."

Jason stuck two carrot sticks up his nose. "Hey look, I'm a walrus!" He said in a silly deep voice.

Charlie giggled. "Jason! Walrusses have teeth in their mouth, not noses! I'm six and even I know that!"

He grinned and simply put the carrots up his lip so they hung out of his mouth.

"Eeeeewwww!" The girls gagged.

Justin leaned over and whispered something to him, then smirked when Jason took them out of his mouth and threw them at the girls.

Charlie pouted and wrinkled her nose. "You're so GROSS!"

"And so are you!" Billy retorted, sticking his tongue out at her.

The picnic went on, filled with good food and stories of past square dances movie nights. When they were done, everyone helped clean up. Soon, Stephanie called the girls saying it was time to go shopping.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stephanie handed separate lists to them once they arrived at the store. "Okay, Mandy. You go get the cooking oil, eggs, spices, and vegetables. Sam, you get the fruit, sugar, flour, and milk. Charlie and I will get the rest, along with a couple things for the house."

They split up and began gathering the items.

As Mandy walked up and down the isles, she started worrying about Emily again. This morning they'd talked about moving to the hotel and about the note. The words that had been scrawled on the paper left in Emily's Family's house, YOU WILL BURN, were the exact same words she'd heard in her nightmare a few nights ago. That, was beyond scary. She desperately wanted her best friend to be safe, but also to see her again even though they'd just texted this morning.

Emily was so scared and desperately wanted to see her too, and right now all Mandy wanted to do was hug her. Why was that Pyromaniac after Emily? Was it the same one that killed her parents? She'd heard from the authorities that her parents death was no accident. She sighed and tried to pace herself and not worry too much. She tried not to think about it as she continued to look for the items on her list, but as each minute passed that was proving to be more and more difficult.

After getting the vegetables, she was about to go and find the cooking oil when she bumped into someone.

"Oh sorry! My bad!"

"No, no! It was my fault!" The stranger apologized.

"EMILY?!?!"

"MANDY?!?!"

They both squealed and hugged each other tightly, for a long time.

Mandy breathed with relief. "Oh Emily, I've missed you so much!"

"So have I! Did you get my message on the news?" Her friend asked.

"Yeah! Oh my word, so scary! Are you and your parents alright?"

"We're fine. A little scared, but fine. It's weird living in a hotel, but whatever keeps us safe. I'd rather not talk about it. How are you? Anything happen today?"

Mandy beamed. "Jason, Justin, Sam, Charlie, Billy and I all had a picnic in the backyard today! It was really fun, even though I slept in and had a late start to all my chores. Walk with me, I have to pick up a few things."

"What's everyone look like? You forgot to send me pictures."

"Oh yeah! I'll start with Jason. He's tall, blonde, blue eyed, and is more like a big brother type. He's going to college in about a year now and has grown up at the place. Sam is dark skinned, has dark eyes, big hair, and is a sassy, fun, spunky friend and she's my age. Justin is pale and has dark hair and blue gray eyes, he's a grouch basically. Then there's Billy who is Sam's younger brother, and Charlie who's got long brown hair, she's super cute and has brown eyes too."

"Jason sounds hot! Do you like him?" Emily teased.

She stared at her friend for a moment before smirking. "Did you not hear me say, big brother type? Gosh, same old Emily! Crushing on every other guy!"

"I do not!"

"Haha!"

"Shut up!"

"Oh relax."

Emily helped her gather a few items and asked, "So I know about the other teens and kids, what are the...um, guardians? Is that what you call them? Guardians? What are they like?"

"They've both got slight southern accents and are a little old fashioned, but they're pretty cool. Stephanie is blond, has blue eyes, and she's really sweet. She's kind, caring, a perfect motherly type and is really patient most of the time, which I find really impressive with all of us living in one house. Danny has stubble, red hair, green eyes, and he's a little strict. Even so, he can be pretty fun too. He told me some great stories when we went on that fishing trip." Mandy explained. "You know what? I'm starting to really like living there!"

Strangely, Emily looked sad at that comment. "Oh. Good for you."

"What's wrong?"

"My parents have been busy lately, arranging things and trying to find whoever threatened us with the note. They're so worried and scared that I don't get too much time with them. I'm scared too, but it doesn't seem to matter much. And now that you're in the group home, I don't get to see you hardly at all anymore." Emily admitted sadly.

Mandy hugged her. "Everything will work out. It will. And hey, you are more than welcome to come visit me! Or maybe I can visit you! It's not impossible."

Emily smiled.

"And, the bedrooms they have there? I know I've told you about them before but oh man, they're so cool! Each of them is just so gorgeous, and there's a pretty little stream nearby and a lake with lots of trees around just a few miles down the road! I would have taken pictures for you but I didn't bring my phone."

"You and your trees! And I know, but you still have to take some and send them to me."

"What can I say? I'm an outdoorsy person. Okay, I will!"

The two talked for a while until Mandy managed to get everything on her list. Once she was finished however, Emily's mother called.

"Aw shoot! I have to go! Look, I'll talk to my parents and then I'll call you okay? We're totally hanging out soon! Bye!" Emily said.

"Okay, bye!"

Mandy headed to the checkout counter and met the others there. She told them all about seeing Emily again, overjoyed when Stephanie agreed to the idea of having her over. Along with all the items on the list, she noticed a few extra things. Ice cream, chips, dip, soda, and cookies.

"Are those for the party tonight?" She asked.

Stephanie nodded. "They sure are! Oh! This is your first time isn't it? How wonderful! You're going to have so much fun!"

"I can't wait!"

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny was just finishing checking the cables on the TV, relieved to see everything was alright. Every other week or so, he checked all the electrical equipment in the house for bugs or problems. That way if there was a problem, they could nip it right in the bud before it got too serious. Once he finished with the TV, he checked the internet, and the breaker box, he was about to head upstairs when he bumped into Justin.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay."

Danny looked him up and down. "Feeling better?"

"Completely actually."

Danny frowned. "You didn't have a cold, so how did you get sick anyway? I've been talking with Stephanie and we both think it's a little strange. Did you eat something that didn't agree with you?"

Justin gulped. "Uh...I...um..."

"Did you get wet? You weren't near any water, so how could this have happened? There was that storm a few nights ago, but I don't think....wait a minute." The sudden realization of how he had gotten sick finally clicked into place. "Alright, tell me what happened."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The girls had just gotten home from shopping, and everyone except Danny and Justin were helping unload the groceries. Mandy had been busily working when she noticed them talking by the stairs and heard part of their conversation.

"So nothing happened? You suddenly got sick for no reason. What I think happened is that the night before you got sick, during the rain storm, you went outside and did something. I don't know what but you'd better fess up right now and whatever you were doing out there better not have been bad." Danny said.

Justin sighed, knowing there was no point in resisting. "Well, I....I was up past curfew really late last night and-"

"Up past curfew? Really late?Just, go on."

Mandy spoke before he could. "It's not his fault! It's mine." She said quickly, putting away the groceries she had in her hands before going over to them. "See, Emily and I have this tradition where we...dance in the rain...to this special song no matter what time or place. I knew I was breaking curfew, but it was only going to take a few minutes! It wasn't planned, and I was woken up by the thunder that night! Then I called Emily and we both did our thing. I didn't get wet because I had a big hoodie on...and I brought an umbrella."

"So you were up past curfew late last night, outside of the house and no one would know where you were and with that pyromaniac on the loose, and in addition to that you've been complaining a lot today and giving me attitude." Danny summarized.

Mandy nodded, surprised that the guilt that burdened her was unexpectedly heavy. She'd only gotten in trouble once before and that was just after her parents had died really recently so she'd been mostly focused on them and not actually being in trouble. She avoided eye contact and decided that her shoes were much more interesting instead.

"And the only reason Justin broke curfew and got sick was because he heard me and woke up. He went outside to try and tell me to go back inside and to bed, and he was in his pijamas at the time so that's why he got wet. It was all my fault."  She said.

That wasn't entirely true. Justin had gone outside past curfew and in the rain on purpose for some reason, and hadn't put on anything to protect him from the rain. Why was she taking all the blame for him? She had no idea.

"Justin, is this true?"

He looked at Mandy, wondering why she was taking the blame. He was about to say no when she nodded at him slightly, just enough for him to see and without Danny noticing. It seemed she was insisting on getting all the trouble, and so he gave in. He mumbled a yes in answer, and that was all the man needed.

He glared at Mandy. "That leniency because of you being the new girl? That ends now. You're getting the same punishments as everyone else around here. You're in a load of trouble missy." He snapped, then grabbed her arm and pulled her upstairs.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny dragged her into his bedroom and shut the door. "You, young lady, are getting your first spanking since being here. Breaking curfewIS NOT and WILL NOT be tolerated here, especially when you go OUTSIDE the house and NO ONE knows where you are! Everyone needs their sleep, and it's important that you OBEY and RESPECT our rules!" He scolded. "And I DON'T CARE if you're doing some rain dance with your best friend or whatever!"

Mandy tugged at the hem of her shirt, a nervous habit she'd developed whenever she got in trouble.

"And you know I've had to warn you about your attitude SEVERAL TIMES today!Then you try and HIDE the fact that you broke curfew extremely late and left the house, you try to HIDE that from me and Stephanie? Maybe if you would have told one of us, or if you'd stayed inside and not stayed up so late, you wouldn't be getting spanked!" He yelled. "Oh, and did you FORGET that your safety was at risk too? That MANIAC who is now threatening your best friend and her family is somewhere out there, so that's one of the main reasons I'm so upset! YOU PUT YOUR SAFETY AT RISK AMANDA! And that WILL NOT be tolerated here or anywhere as long as I have jurisdiction over you!"

"Sorry." She whispered, her eyes already filled with tears and the punishment hadn't even started yet.

He glared at her and sat on the bed. "Oh trust me, you will be sorry when I've finished with you. Bend over, and take your jeans down." He ordered, then when he saw her confused face he clarified, "So I can see how much 'damage' I'm doing."

She obeyed and slowly bent over his lap, both nervous and feeling quite awkward since this was her first time being actually punished while living here, not to mention she hadn't been spanked by anyone who wasn't family but she figured that in this case she didn't have a choice. Earlier she'd only gotten warnings for her attitude and a talking to, so this was her first time getting spanked here. She'd been spanked plenty of times before when her parents had been alive, and the only difference was the person delivering the punishment.

Mandy jumped when the first strike landed. It had come so suddenly, and it sure hurt a lot more than she remembered! The pain built up quickly as the strikes continued to land, and the tears had started falling before she knew it.

"Ouch! Ow, ow, ow! " She cried, gripping the bedspread.

The pain had only continued to build as the smacks went on, and the redness of her backside started appearing through her underwear. Danny was surprised that he was spanking her and not Justin. Even though she hadn't been here very long, she'd bonded with everyone. He did care about her and hated punishing her, especially this hard this soon. Still, it wasn't fair for her to get treated differently just because she was new.

The next six came down slowly, making the pain much worse. Mandy had started to sob, and drummed her feet with every spank and tears streaming down her cheeks. "Danny! Please! Stop!"

The last three strikes were probably the hardest, and she cried and kicked her feet with every one. When the last one hit her, she took a long deep breath and let out a loud wail and continued to sob, still bent over the man's lap. Danny winced as she stood and righted her clothing, crying harder as she did so.

"Mandy, come here please." He said quietly.

"No! Get away from me!" She sobbed, then ran out and into her room.

She slammed the door behind her and locked it, ignoring Danny when he knocked on her door. She got into bed and hid under the covers, still crying. She'd only been here for about a week, and even though she knew everyone better now, that still didn't change the fact that she'd basically been spanked by a stranger. Okay, so yes she did know him and he wasn't a stranger, but still. She hadn't gotten spanked in a while and the last one she'd gotten was from her parents.

Danny and Stephanie weren't her parents, and no matter what they did they would never even come close. She cried for a few more minutes before she calmed down and finally stopped her tears. She just laid in bed for a good forty five minutes until someone knocked on her door again, and it was probably Danny.

She scowled and got out of bed, unlocked the door, got back onto the bed before telling him to come in.

He came in, shut the door behind him quietly and sat at the foot of the bed. "Mandy, do you know why I had to spank you?"

"Because I broke your rules." She muttered.

"That's right. I didn't want to, but you forced my hand."

She sighed. "You're not my dad though. What gave you the right to spank me? Or to spank any of the others?"

"When I started this place I arranged with the officials that I would be allowed to use corporal punishment, since this place technically wasn't a personal home and it's a public place, a group home. It's like a better orphanage, so it's a public place and not a personal home." He said. "And I'm not your dad, I'm not trying to be and I never would try. Stephanie isn't your mom, and she isn't trying to be or would never try. What we are though, is legal guardians. We are your legal guardians and it's our job to make sure you stay in line, stay healthy, do your work, and have fun."

"I barely know you though, or Stephanie." Mandy sniffled as her tears slowly returned. She was laying on top of the covers, with her back turned to him.

Danny put a hand on her shoulder. "Oh come on darlin, you know us better than that! Come here, please." He said gently.

She sniffled and stood up, hesitating a moment.

He waved her forward and then gently helped her sit on his lap with her backside between his knees to as not to cause anymore pain. "Can I tell you a story?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

"There once was a little boy who wanted a puppy, and she wanted a puppy so much that he was always begging his parents for one. So a few months later, on his birthday, he got one! It was the cutest little dog you'd ever seen, a little golden retriever. Now, his parents also gave him a blue leash for the puppy and made him promise never to take the leash off when they were outside together. The little boy and his puppy had so much fun when they played and ran, and that little dog loved to run!

One day when he was taking the puppy for a walk he felt sorry for him because he was on his leash. He thought that if he took it off, he wouldn't choke himself, and he wouldn't get tangled in it, and that they would have so much more fun and he would be so much happier! So, he took the leash off and broke the promise he made to his parents. And boy did that puppy run! He ran, and ran, as far as the eye could see and had the time of his life! But the puppy ran so fast that the little boy couldn't keep up with him, and he ran all over the yard and down the sidewalk and right into the street! He was running so fast that he didn't see the truck coming his way fast." He said.

Mandy frowned. "That's an awful story."

"It is, but it's a story my dad passed onto me, because there's an important lesson to it."

"What is it?"

"Well, who's fault was it that the dog got hit?"

"The little boy?"

"That's right. She thought that making the puppy happy would be giving him what he wanted, instead of giving him what he needed. It's better to discipline in care and love, than to ignore and let someone do whatever they want because if people let others do that then they wouldn't really care would they? Caring about someone is not just taking care of them, it's giving them what they need. And even though discipline isn't pleasant for either person, the one getting it and the one giving it, it's needed."

Mandy blinked back tears.

"You see, you're like that puppy. I'm like the boy holding the leash. And since I care about you, really care about you and love you, I'll pull on that leash as hard and as often as I need to. Amanda, I know you've only been here for about a week. In such little time, you've gotten everybody attached to you. We care about you, I care about you, I do. And I just want you to know that's why I punish you, and because I want you to obey and respect the rules. Do you understand what I'm saying?" He asked.

She nodded twice before bursting into tears. Still sitting on is lap she hugged him, burying her face into his chest.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, so, so, sorry Danny! Please, forgive me! I'm sorry!" She cried. "I won't ever go outside really late again, I know you want me to be safe because that pyromaniac is out there! And I won't hide things from you or Stephanie, and I won't give you lip or attitude either!"

He held onto her tightly, rubbing circles on her back. "Shh. Shh, sweetheart. Oh sweetheart. I forgive you, I forgive you. Hush now. I've got you." Goodness. It was hard spanking the kids, especially when it was their first time! He held onto her as long as she needed him to, rubbing her back and trying to calm her down.

Mandy was so relieved to be in his strong, gentle arms. She was happy the worst was over now and that he'd forgiven her. It would definitely be a very, very, very, very long time before she misbehaved again. She buried her face into his chest, her crying starting to slow down. When it eventually stopped, save for a few left over sniffles, he broke the hug a bit so he could look at her.

"Amanda, I want you to remember what we talked about alright? It's like I said, you're like that puppy. I'm like the boy holding the leash. And since I care about you, really care about you and love you, I'll pull on that leash as hard and as often as I need to."

She nodded. "Yes sir."

He smiled and wiped away a stray tear of hers.

"Is tonight ruined because of me?" She asked sadly.

He hugged her again. "No, of course not. Do you feel like coming downstairs now, or later?"

"I...I think I can come down...but I think I'll have to miss out on the square dance."

"That will probably be one of the last things we do, so you should be a lot better by then. Though the choice is still up to you."

"Okay..." She sighed.

"Come on then."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Mandy came downstairs afterwards, she blushed, because everyone knew what had just happened, even though she'd cleaned her face to get rid of any evidence on tears. She was so mortified! Justin went over to her as soon as she came down, when she really just wanted to curl up in a ball and hide. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come downstairs just now.

"Why did you take the blame for me?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I have my reasons, now please leave me alone." She said, when she really wanted to say that she had no idea and just felt like she had to, and that she really had to think about it before giving him a real answer. Right now she didn't want to think about it.

"Great news everyone! Its time to start!" Jason announced.

As the night progressed, Mandy seemed to cheer up a bit. Supper, which was fried chicken, was delicious and so were the snacks! Everyone pigged out and watched a little TV before it was time for the family square dancing. Mandy had never square danced before, but learned quickly and had a fun time doing it, and it didn't hurt hardly at all during the dance! When the dance finished, everyone was both laughing and panting from exhaustion. When the movies came, the ice cream and cookies were eaten and everyone gathered on the floor and couch. She sat with Jason on the couch, who put his arm around her and held her close.

"Sorry about what happened." He whispered as the movie played.

She nodded. "It's okay. It still hurts." She whined.

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, spankings will do that to you."

She made a little huffing noise through her nose. "You're mean."

"No I'm not." He grinned. "You're just sore and grumpy."

"Hmph!"

He chuckled, giving her a little squeeze. "Don't worry, things will get better. There's always a great big, beautiful tomorrow at the end of every day."

"You're such an optimist. It's annoying." She teased.

"Oh shut it Negative Nancy." He teased back.

She giggled, and Jason was glad to hear it.


	9. The Mall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See some of what Danny and Stephanie used to be like in their younger years, and the rest of the crew goes to the mall

Mandy woke up the next morning to find herself lying on her stomach.

 _'That's weird.'_   She thought. _'I never sleep like this.'_

She yawned and sat up, wincing as she did. She was still a bit sore from yesterday, but it wasn't unbearable. As she got dressed and looked for the outfit that would be the least painful to wear, and ended up wearing an airy, light, ankle length navy skirt with shorts underneath just in case in got windy or something, and a sleeveless stylish white top with the gold locket her dad had given her. To finish it off, she curled her hair and sprayed it in place and put on just a dash of make up since she didn't need much. She took a look at herself in the mirror as she slipped on her black flats and grinned.

Stephanie had taken her shopping since she didn't have very many clothes when she'd arrived, having only packed three outfits for staying at Emily's. One of the other important rules here was to always dress modestly. The most immodest the girls could get was a sleeveless top or tank top that didn't show off cleavage, knee length skirts and shorts too. This was one of her favorite outfits she and Stephanie had picked out. She rushed to her dresser and pulled out two thin golden bangles and a little gold looking hair bow. She giggled and began to spin around, enjoying how her skirt flowed outwards.

At that moment, Sam came in without warning and startled her. Mandy shrieked, stumbled, and fell down on her still slightly sore bum. "Ouch! SAM!" She cried.

Sam helped her up and gave her an apologetic shrug. "Sorry! You okay?"

Mandy raised her eyebrows. "Yeah I'm clearly fine! Having a sore backside is completely normal!" She snapped.

"Well excuuuuse me, grouch!"

"Sorry, it still hurts!"

"I know the feeling. I've gotten my fair share of spankings too. I'm just surprised it was you that got it hard and not Justin! He's almost always getting in trouble." Sam remarked.

Mandy looked around the room and made sure the door was closed. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything."

"You have to promise to keep it secret!"

"I promise on my curly hair!"

Mandy giggled, but then grew serious. "It wasn't all my fault."

"That's not a surprise."

"I came outside to do my tradition that I do with and for Emily, and Justin was already out there. I don't know what he was doing but he was out there way before I was. He was just sitting there, in just a shirt and pants, getting completely soaked for no reason. He didn't tell me to go inside or anything. We both promised not to tell since we were both out past curfew."

"If that was the case, he should have gotten spanked too! Going out late and getting soaked on purpose along with trying to hide it definitely warrants one. You took it all and said it was all your fault when it wasn't. Why? What good has he ever done to you?" Sam asked, a little weirded out.

Mandy shrugged. "None I guess."

"Then why'd you take the rat for him?"

"I don't know...I guess I felt a little sorry for him. From what I have seen and what you told me, he gets in enough trouble already. And something really bad must have happened to him to make him how he is...and it was worth it...because I saw him smile last night."

Sam raised an eyebrow, but eventually nodded. "Well, never mind him! You look fantastic! Hot even!"

Mandy giggled. "Thanks. Too bad we're not going anywhere, cause I'd really like to show this off." She joked.

"Well, Danny and Stephanie are going out today. They're going to leave around lunch and not come back until late tonight."

"Aw, that's great! So good that they can have some romantic time for themselves."

"Yeah. Come on! Let's go get breakfast and do our chores!"

"You don't like doing your chores. What's the rush?"

"They'll occupy us until they leave, then the real party can start! Race you!"

Mandy huffed as Sam dashed ahead of her. "The injured can't race, you dumbo!" She called, rubbing her sore backside once more before heading downstairs.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

Stephanie grabbed Danny by the collar and planted a big kiss on his lips, much to his surprise. He grinned and kissed her back.

"Someone's in a good mood!" He remarked.

She began looking through the closet for a pair of shoes. "Of course I am! Why shouldn't I be? I'm going to spend most of a day with my wonderful husband."

He chuckled and began brushing his hair. "You know, almost every time we go out I feel like I'm back in college."

His wife laughed. "Sometimes I do too. Remember the day before graduation? You wrote me that beautiful poem. Do you still remember it?"

Danny hugged her from behind and kissed her neck as they looked in the mirror. "Love is not just about calling each other all day. Love is about adjusting and making way. Love is just not about walking in the rain. Love is about sharing the pain. Love is not just about sending messages and tweets. Love is about making each other's lives complete. All these facts about love are totally true, which I realized when I fell in love with you."

Stephanie grinned. "We had our first kiss after that."

"And many more after that." Danny said, turning her around and pulling her into a passionate kiss. As they kissed they remembered their entire love story, seemingly flashing before them.

***************

FLASHBACK

***************

They'd begun dating in college, but had known each other way before then! They'd met when they were both in kindergarten, and at first they hated each other! He would call her Step-on-me, and she would call him Dan the Garbage Man. They were the typical kid rivals, doing things like pushing each other around, teasing mercilessly, and Danny used to pull on her blonde braids every chance he got. Throughout first grade they didn't fight as much but ignored and hated each other just the same. In second grade, they kept their distance and by third grade they'd forgotten all about each other. Time went on and they never noticed each other until seventh grade when Valentines day was around the corner.

Twelve year old Danny didn't want to be the only boy in his class without a valentine, so he looked around until he finally saw Stephanie looking sad as she talked with her friends who were all squealing and jumping around. He really didn't want to ask her in front of all those other girls so he whistled loudly and motioned for her to come over. Once she knew he was trying to get her attention, she went over. That day she'd looked real cute in his opinion. Her blonde curls were curlier than ever, and she wore a pair of jean overalls and with a pink shirt and pink high tops. She liked to dress however she wanted, even if what she was wearing today wasn't very girly.

"Hi. You're name is...Daniel, right?" She asked in her soft southern accent.

He nodded. "Call me Danny. And you're Stephanie?"

She nodded, glancing at the ground for a moment before looking back up at him.

"So, is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Now he stared at the ground. "Well...I was wondering...if you would...be my valentine?"

She beamed. "Sure!"

"Really?" he asked, bewildered she'd actually said yes.

"Yeah! Gotta go now! Bye!"

At the class Valentine party, they talked and started to get to know each other more and became fast friends. They went over to each other's houses every once in a while, shared favorite activities, and eventually became best friends. Around the time when they were fourteen, they started celebrating the day they became friends. It went wonderfully, and the two decided that every year they would give each other a gift and do something fun. The second time, around tenth grade, things took a turn for the worse. Stephanie was very excited. She was fifteen, and even though this was only the second time they were going to celebrate their friendship, she had something very special to give him. It was a note.

A special note. Truth be told, she'd had a crush on him for the longest time and had been very good at hiding it. And today was the day he was finally going to know, know how she felt about him. She got herself ready, putting on her favorite outfit. Dark jeans, a red and black plaid long sleeved shirt, red sneakers, got her hair extra curly, put on her golden hoop earrings and headed out to the tree atop the hill behind the school. That's where they always met before going out to do an activity.She sat at the tree, waiting for him at their usual time. She waited patiently for about ten minutes before she started to worry. He was always there on time! She got up and started pacing around the tree until it was nearly half past.

Finally, to her relief, Danny came running up the hill and collapsed by the tree out of breath.

"There you are! Where were you?" She asked.

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Pa wanted me to help out with something. I'm here now though! Here! Open your present!" He said, shoving a small box into her hand.

She grinned and opened it, then frowned when she saw what was inside. "A ticket to the pizza shack?" He nodded.

"Yeah! Me and a bunch of friends were gonna go and watch the super bowl! Oh, and don't worry! I invited your friends too so you won't be the only girl! It'll be real fun! Wanna come?"

She tried to smile. "Well...um...I don't know. I thought we were gonna do something, just the two of us like last time."

He bit his lip. "Oh. Is that what you wanted?"

They were both silent for a moment before she handed him the note. Her eyes filled with tears. She was hoping they would exchange gifts, he'd know how she felt and they'd go off and have a great time together. She watched as he opened the note and read it, his eyes growing wide. He looked up at her, now blushing as well.

She avoided eye contact but asked, "Do...do you feel the same way?"

Danny ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "This was...well...unexpected. I'm a bit shocked but...um...I don't know. I'm going to need time to think about it."

She struggled to keep her composure as she nodded.

"So, you still coming to the pizza shack to watch the super bowl?" He asked after a few minutes. "It wouldn't be fun without you."

She shook her head. "Sorry, I don't think I can make it. My Ma and Pa wanted me to come home early so I could watch the house while they take care of something at work."

He looked disappointed. "Oh. Well alright then. Thanks anyway. I'll see you later I guess."

"Bye."

He stared at the note in his hand, then at her before leaving with his head hung.

Stephanie had lied. She didn't have to go watch the house, but after his response to the note she just couldn't bear being around anyone for a while. So, she went home and cried it out. Despite her still being a little sad, she didn't want to be mean to him and refuse his gift. She went to the pizza shack and had a pretty decent time, and seeing Danny happy was more important than her feeling sad.A few days later at around mid-afternoon, the doorbell rang and she answered the door.

"Oh hello Danny."

He smiled. "His Stephanie. Listen, about that note you gave me? Well, I've done some thinking."She kept herself from appearing too excited.

"And?"

He beamed. "I do feel the same way."

Out of impulse and sheer happiness, she suddenly hugged him. He was shocked, but he hugged back and didn't find it weird at all.

Since then, the two got along very well and managed to keep their liking each other under control and within their parents rules. Of course, they did have their fights like everyone else, especially in college. They were finally allowed to go on dates together, but things weren't always a bed of roses. They'd broken up once, and Danny had been in love and dated Anastasia at the same time his brother was dating her too. They both loved her but she couldn't pick who she loved more and would stay with. Finally, Danny gave up and broke up with her and returned to Stephanie who thankfully forgave him after a while. Once, Danny kept getting love notes from Anastasia, who was trying to get him back, and boy did Stephanie get jealous!

"You were flirting with her!" Stephanie accused, glaring at him as they sat together at lunch.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "No I wasn't. I was just making conversation."

"Yeah, a real flirty conversation." She huffed.

"I have no interest in Anastasia anymore, alright? Even if I did, which I don't, I wouldn't be allowed to even still because my brother's dating her now."

"Then why do you keep getting love notes from her?"

"I don't know! Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"Hmph!"

"Steph, just relax. I don't have eyes for any other girl except-" He was suddenly cut off by Anastasia sitting next to him."Me!" She finished, giggling.

"So, Daniel, care to help me with my studies for history? I would really appreciate it!" She said, batting her eyes at him shamelessly. "Your brother isn't any good at helping me."

Stephanie scoffed.

Anastasia glared at her. "What's your problem?"

"More like what's your problem? You're clinging to Danny like he belongs to you when he doesn't! In case you haven't gotten it through your thick head, I'M his girlfriend, you are NOT ANYMORE."

The other girl just smirked and kissed Danny right on the cheek, which they weren't allowed to do in the college but no one else saw her. "Really? You two haven't even kissed yet." She said smugly.

Stephanie got up from the table and stomped off, using every ounce of her strength to resist slapping the girl right across the face. Anastasia could be really mean sometimes when it came to men, but the rest of the time she was really nice.

Danny and Stephanie stuck together though, through the good times and bad. They finished college, and after dating for a few more months, he finally proposed. He blind folded her and took her to the top of the hill behind their old school and next to the tree that overlooked the city. He removed her blindfold and smiled when she gasped. They hadn't been here in quite some time.

"Stephanie, I've known you my whole life. And even though we've had bad times, we've had plenty of good ones too. You brighten up my day, I always look forward to seeing you, you make me laugh, you're funny, smart, caring, and one of the best friends I could ever ask for." He said nervously.

She had tears in her eyes but was smiling too.

"I don't want us to be apart, because I've got a permanent place for you in my heart. Steph, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" He asked, getting down on one knee and pulling out a red velvet box and revealing a beautiful diamond ring.

"Yes!" She cried, sniffling as he put it on her finger.

They sat together and cuddled for the rest of the evening, watching the sun set and enjoying the beauty of it's warm, colorful rays.

****************

END OF FLASHBACK

******************

Danny stopped kissing her long enough to say, "I love you."

"I love you too." She returned, about to kiss him again when she saw the clock on the wall. "Oh, we gotta go! Come on!"

After saying goodbye to the kids and leaving Jason in charge, the two headed off for a nice time out together.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So? What are we going to do now?" Mandy asked, leaning against the wall and munching on a poptart.

Jason frowned. "What do you mean?"

Sam stole Mandy's poptart, took a bite and handed it back. "You're in charge! You have to entertain us."

Mandy gave her a look after seeing the large bite she'd taken from the poptart before shrugging and continuing to eat it anyway.

Billy and Charlie clung to his legs.

"Take us to the park!" Billy demanded.

"Take us to the mall!" Charlie said.

He tried to shake them off, only to get a bunch of giggles from them. "Well...I don't know. Those two places are pretty close. Why don't we take a vote? Whoever wants to go to the park, raise their hand."

Only Billy raised his hand.

"Everyone who wants to go the mall, raise their hand."

Everyone else raised their hands.

"Alright then, let's go to the mall!"

The two older girls grinned, giving each other a double high five.

"Hot Topic, here we come!" Mandy cheered.

Justin stared at them, wide eyed even though one was covered by his hair. "Mandy, you like hot topic?"

She nodded rapidly. "Oh yeah! They've got some pretty cool clothes there, and plus all the fandom stuff!"

"I want to go to CLAIRE'S!" Charlie shouted, jumping up and down.

Jason scooped her up and tossed her in the air, making her laugh hysterically. "Don't worry. We've got lots of time to go to Claire's."

With all of the excitement and talking, no one noticed Billy sitting on the floor pouting. He really had wanted to go to the park. Sam turned around and finally saw her little brother's expression.

She knelt down next to him. "Hey Buddy. I'm sorry about the park." She said sympathetically.

He didn't respond."How about we take you to Gamestop? You like that store." She offered.

He nodded solemnly.

She playfully poked him. "Come on, the mall isn't THAT bad! If you smile for me I'll give you a piggy back ride to the car."

At the mention of a piggyback ride, he did exactly as she asked.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as they got to the mall, they headed to the large fountain at the center.

Jason checked his watch. "Okay guys, it's one forty, so let's meet back here at three. Sound good? I'll stay with Charlie." He said, taking hold of her small hand.

Billy pulled on his sister's hand. "Come on Sam! You said we could go to gamestop!"

She sighed, having wanted to go to other stores first, but if it could avoid a tantrum or having to reprimand him in public she supposed it wouldn't hurt to wait. "Oh alright! After that, we're going to the stores I want."

He nodded happily.

Mandy looked at Justin, who was wearing ripped jeans and his usual black hoodie, and shrugged. "I guess that leaves us."

And so, everyone headed their separate ways, Mandy and Justin heading to Hot Topic. However, she seemed to be a little bit slow. Justin turned around with a huff. "Geez! Why are you taking so long?"

She glared at him, catching up. "Because I'm in pain, you idiot."

"Pain? What pain? Oh. That pain."

She nodded curtly and continued walking.

After a minute of silence, he asked, "Why did you take my punishment?"

"You get in enough trouble already. I was doing you a favor." She snapped.

He frowned. "You didn't have to. Is it that bad?"

She mumbled a quiet answer."Yes, but only because I haven't gotten that punishment in a while. It feels a lot worse than it actually is."

"I'm sorry." Justin said sympathetically. "Really, you didn't have to take my punishment. It would have made more sense if you told him the whole truth and volunteered."

Mandy glared at him furiously. "Well excuse me! My plans aren't always perfect and I panicked okay?!?! I am never doing it again if this is the kind of thanks I get! Now I'm ticked off at him and you!"

"You're still new to him so he isn't sure how to handle discipline at first cause we're all different. Stephanie always says that afterwards, and we all get a harsh punishment at least once." He explained.

She sighed. "It wasn't harsh. Seriously, he didn't spank me that hard. I'm saying it just feels like he did, even though he didn't, because I haven't had that kind of punishment in a long time."

He nodded. "Okay, good. I'm just saying. And Mandy...I know it was pretty hard for you...and I'm grateful for what you did."

She stopped glaring at the floor and grumbling under her breath and looked up at him, surprised. She'd never expected to get ANY kind of thanks from him.

"I just want you to know that this happened to all of us, so you aren't alone. He's never been a parent before. And each of us came at different ages at different times so he wasn't really super prepared. I don't know. Look, all I'm saying is that he might make a couple mistakes eventually and be hurtful sometime in the future but no one is perfect. I know he didn't punish you hard, which is good, but you're still mad at him and you shouldn't be. Don't reject him." He said, his voice full of concern and...care?

"Yeah I know I shouldn't be mad at him, and I guess I'm not...I'm just grumpy because...well you know, and that's normal. Danny is trying his best, isn't he?"

Justin nodded.

She could only stare at him, momentarily blinking.

"What?" He asked.

"You really care about him, don't you? Who are you and what have you done with Justin?" Shock evident in her voice.

Justin scowled, realizing he'd been caught being sentimental and not himself at all. He didn't have a good answer so he gave her a look, shrugged it off, and said nothing as they headed to the store. 'She sure is weird, that's for sure. She doesn't tell me what to do like everyone else, leaves me alone like I want, and now she takes my punishment for me? What's wrong with her? What's wrong with me? Why do I even bother with her?' He would have continued wondering further, but they'd arrived at the store.

Mandy beamed as she walked in, momentarily forgetting her mood. She giggled and ran over to the Doctor Who display, picking up everything and looking at it intently. She gasped as she saw the Sherlock and Supernatural themed items, went over to them and tried to restrain herself from fangirling over it too much. Justin merely smirked at her reaction as he browsed through the pokemon, adventure time, and heavy metal goth stuff.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam played with the Wii in Gamestop while her little brother ran around, looking at all the games. He'd occasionally come and show her something, but that was about it. Everything was going fine until a couple of color walked in. A husband and wife. They looked around a bit, and ended up being close to where Billy was. They spoke just loud enough for Sam to hear.

The man chuckled and kissed his wife. "Just think honey, we'll be in Las Vegas in a matter of days!"

His wife grinned and kissed him back. "Can't wait!"

Billy looked at them for a moment before his face crumpled and he ran to his sister. She picked him up, trying to soothe him as he cried silently into her shoulder. She carried him out of the store and sat on a nearby bench, trying to calm him down. When their parents had dropped them off at the group home, Sam had been thirteen and he had been four. He got sad at the mention of Las Vegas, but what he saw in the store was just too much for him.

She managed to pry him off her shoulder just enough so he was looking at her. "It's okay. Everything is going to be fine. You still have me, remember?"

He nodded, wiping his nose on his shirt. "Yeah...but it still hurts!" he whined, pointing to where his heart was.

She nodded. "I know, it still hurts me too. The thing is, there isn't much we can do about what happened so let's not worry about it too much right now okay? Let's just focus on having a good time. We can talk about it at home if you need to."

"Okay...."

Sam sighed. He'd been thinking about their parents a lot lately, she could tell. He'd gotten quiter, he got into less trouble and spent more time in his room away from everyone. Today must have just been the last straw. Billy hugged her, and she hugged him back. He cried whatever silent tears he had left, his little heart full of sorrow. When he finally calmed down, he decided not to try not to think about it and just enjoy himself just like his sister had said.

"We can go to the stores you want to now." He mumbled.

She gave him a big kiss on the cheek, to which he grimaced and wiped it off. She merely chuckled and took his hand, leading them to Bath and Bodyworks after promising to play with him when they arrived home.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jason's jaw dropped to the ground when he saw how full the Build-A-Bear store was. He'd already taken her to Claire's, and next she begged him to take her to this place. He gave in and agreed, now regretting that decision. The little girl was currently jumping up and down next to him, singing the build a bear song and was about to skip inside when he grabbed her hand and stopped her.

She looked up at him curiously."You have to stay with me at all times, and don't let go of my hand. If you want to go see something just ask me. Got it?"

She grinned. "Got it!"

They headed inside, swimming through the crowded store just to look at cutesy little outfits and overpriced bears. He hated this place. I mean sure, he liked some cute things as much as the next guy but this was really pushing it.

"Wow! Look at these overalls! It's a golden color and it would look so handsome on my bear Goldy!" Charlie gasped, showing him the clothing.

Jason forced a smile. "Yeah, cute."

He waited for the torture to end, then checked his watch. They should be heading back soon. He was about to tell her that but when he looked down she wasn't there! Panic surged through him. He'd lost his adopted little sister! Ever since she'd come to the group home, they'd bonded instantly. She had always been considered his little sister, and he loved her with all his heart. She was cute, funny, creative, and loved to cuddle. She could be a brat sometimes, but he still loved her. And now he'd lost her!

He made his way through the crowd, calling for her. "Charlie! Charlie! Where are you?"

He pushed past people and finally managed to get outside the store in ten minutes, where he saw Charlie crying and standing next to a young couple.

Jason rushed over to her, scooping her up and hugging her tightly. "Charlie! There you are! Don't run off like that ever again!"

She shook her head. "Wasn't my fault, people were pushing. And they seprated our hands so then, so then I tried to go out here." She sniffled. "These people stayed and tried to help me."

He nodded and kissed her forehead. "I'm just glad you're alright." He said, before turning to the couple.

"Thank you so much."

They smiled. "No problem, glad you found her. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

Charlie still clung to him tightly, still a little weepy, but not as much. He smiled and carried her along. "Come on, let's go home."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny smiled as he sat across the table from Stephanie. They'd gone to the movies for the afternoon and were now having dinner at Stephanie's favorite Japanese restaurant, even if Danny didn't like this particular type of food. After this though, they'd be heading home.

"I've been having such a great time today. It's been a while since we ever got some time to ourselves." He said.

She took a bite of rice. "Me too! And thanks for choosing this restaurant. I know you're not a fan of Japanese food."

"Anything for you, doll."

She giggled. "And that movie was fantastic! I love the Hunger Games books, but I hadn't seen the movie before!"

"I knew you'd like it! Thank goodness you didn't want to watch some chic flic." He teased.

"Oh please." She teased back.

"So, I have to ask, has Justin seemed different to you?"

She thought for a moment, then nodded. "A little bit. Not by much, but I can definitely tell something's changed. Mandy's had some kind of an influence on him. Not sure which kind though, hopefully good!"

"Speaking of Mandy, do you think she'll be okay?"

Stephanie sighed and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. "Honey, that's normal. All the kids are that way after they get spanked!"

Danny frowned. "What? No, no, that's not what I meant. And yes, I know that."

"What did you mean then?"

"I mean with this pyromaniac out there.""I'm sure she's fine now, and besides nothing has happened lately and the police are on the case so it's perfectly fine. If anything I think she's feeling cooped up."

"What do you mean?"

"We should let her go to her friend's house or something, I think it would be good for her to have some fresh air. We let all our other kids do it, so it's her turn now."

He smiled. "That sounds great, I think she'll really like that. Except I think we should wait a few days though, just to be safe."

The waiter came by and they paid for their meal and left.

As they walked back to the car, she put her arm in his. "Thank you for today, it was wonderful. I love you."

"I love you too, and thank you for coming along." He said, giving her a quick kiss before attempting to get in the car.

"I'll drive back!" She volunteered.

"Uh, sure honey. Go ahead."

They switched sides, but forgot to switch their seats before they'd gotten out. Danny's knees were digging into the dashboard, while Stephanie was having a hard time reaching the pedals and wheel. She took one look at the way they were sitting and laughed, then adjusted her seat.He just grinned and adjusted his seat as well. He was lucky to have her as his wife.

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The kids all came back home at about three thirty and went off to do their separate things. Sam went to go play with Billy, Justin went to his room to be alone, and Charlie went to go color. Jason and Mandy stayed downstairs and sat on the couch together, watching TV.

"How was your time at the mall?" She asked, muting it as the commercials came on.

"It was good, until Charlie got separated from me in Build-A-Bear."

She snorted. "You let Charlie drag you into Build-A-Bear? I would have loved to see that!"

He smirked. "Oh shut up. It was a massacre in there! Good grief! I almost drowned in people! I also nearly lost Charlie in there!"

"She could have been KIDNAPPED! Or worse...EXPELLED!"

They burst out laughing.

"Oh my word you know that joke? You're a Potterhead too?"

"Heck yeah!"

"That is SO awesome, but back to the topic at hand. You're a horrible brother." She joked.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not! And just to prove to you I'm not a horrible brother, I'm taking you on a tour tomorrow if Danny and Stephanie let me."

"A tour of what?"

"Of the area!"

"I've already seen all the cool stuff here."

"Well too bad, cause I'm taking you anyway and I'm gonna show you a good time. And for your information there is some stuff you haven't seen, so technically you haven't seen ALL the cool stuff here. Oh hey, I almost forgot, what was your favorite part of going to the mall?"

"My favorite part was obviously hot topic! If I had cash I would have gotten myself a Sherlock shirt, along with a million other things related to all my fandoms."

"You girls and your fandoms."

She playfully shoved him. "Look who's talking!"

He stuck his tongue out at her, chuckling when she did it right back. "You know, you look really nice today, Lynn."

She smiled at the compliment and smiled even bigger at her middle name/nickname. "Thanks! So, what time do you think Danny and Stephanie will be back?"

"Pretty soon I'm guessing."

As soon as they said that, Danny and Stephanie walked through the door.

"Hi!"Jason greeted them.

Mandy smiled and waved.

"Did you all have a good time?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah. And there were no problems whatsoever." Mandy answered.

Danny took off his coat. "Hey, Mandy? Would you come upstairs for a moment?"She nodded and followed.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mandy sighed as she once again sat on the bed in Danny's room. "Am I in trouble again?"

Stephanie, who sat at the desk chair facing her, shook her head. "No silly! We just want to talk to you about something, something really fun."

"Oh? What's that?"

"If your friend is available next week, how does going over to her house for a sleepover sound?" Danny asked.

"That would be so cool! I'll call her right now! Thanks!" She said, giving each of them a quick hug. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"Alright! Be sure to be in bed on time tonight!" He said as she left the room.

"Yes sir! Won't be doing that again!"

That night, Mandy called Emily and planned out what they were going to do and went to bed extremely excited for the upcoming week. Unfortunately for her though, she was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of a door or something shutting loudly. She yawned and turned on her light, making it dim, but not enough so that she couldn't see. She looked around for her cup of water, which she'd left on her dresser.However, when she saw her dresser, time seemed to crawl. Everything was moving in slow motion. Her heart thumped in her chest like a sledgehammer, her breathing became slow and deep, and her feet felt heavy as led.

On her dresser, the water had been tipped over and spilled all over her floor and top of the dresser. It didn't look like water though, and whether it was a trick of the light, her tired eyes, or if it was real she didn't know. The water looked like blood. And mixed with that blood atop of the dresser, was ashes. In those ashes and that blood or water liquid, was a single white rose. The rose was shriveled and just starting to wilt. Under it, was a note written in the same uphill scrawl that she'd seen on the news when Emily and her family had been threatened.The note, though partially covered in the disgusting stuff, was still legible.

I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU.

Mandy gulped and put the note down before going back to bed, hoping it was all a dream.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Mandy woke up to find her dresser completely clean and her cup of water still there, not spilled or touched at all. She frowned in thought. It had felt real enough...had it been a dream? Or had it been real? It felt real alright. Shuddering Mandy really hoped it wasn't the latter.


	10. Meet Pyro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to find out who the pyromaniac is

The days passed quickly, and soon it was time for the sleepover, and thank goodness Mandy hadn't had anymore strange dreams, and there hadn't been any threats or anything at all from the Pyro. Now Mandy and Emily walked hand in hand, enjoying their time together. It had been a while since Emily and her family been threatened with that note, and the house hadn't been damaged so they moved back in. The two girls had started hanging out early in the afternoon and had gone out for a walk.

"Man, I've missed this." Mandy sighed.

Emily beamed. "Me too. And hey, I've been meaning to ask you something." she said, growing nervous.

"What is it?"

Her best friend spoke in a deep dramatic voice and got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

The two girls took one look at each other and burst out laughing, they both had a slightly perverted sense of humor. Emily even fell to the ground. Once they'd finished their laughing fit, they continued on.

"I actually do want to ask you something though, but it's not marriage." She said.

Mandy smirked. "Of course it's not! I'm WAY out of your league!"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Emily giggled.

"You wanted to ask?"

"Want to go to Genie's Gelato?"

Mandy gasped. "Oh yeah! I haven't been there in such a long time!"

Genie's Gelato was a small but relatively popular shop that the two girls absolutely loved. Each of them had gone their many times with their parents as a special treat when they were younger, and even when they were older too. The shop had a little pink and blue striped canopy hanging over the roof, and the outside of it was white but had posters of the gelato and blue polka dots around the windows. Inside, the floor had black and white tile, a wall of family pictures since this shop was quite old, and besides that it had nice curved metal white chairs and little clear glass tables. Since there weren't many people the girls got their gelato quickly and sat by the store window as they ate.

"Mmm! I love strawberry!"

Emily rolled her eyes, taking a huge bite of her mint. "No kidding. That's like all you ever get."

"Whatever. I could eat this all day! It's so smooth, and delicious!" Mandy moaned.

Her friend giggled. "That's what he said!"

They laughed for a solid five minutes at that one.

Soon, the girls finished their desserts and decided it was time to go home and swim in Emily's pool. They were on their way there, chatting about their swim suits and having various water contests.

Emily suddenly gasped. "Oh wait! I have to stop at the drugstore and pick up some Aspirin for my mom! The store's over there." She said.

While she got the medicine, Mandy waited outside at the corner of the store near the bushes. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and she felt a cloth being smothered against her face. She struggled and tried to scream, but couldn't for very long. She began to feel very, very sleepy and eventually surrendered to unconsciousness.

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Mandy woke up to the smell of some kind of chemical. It took her a moment, but when her vision cleared and she was fully awake she gasped. She was hanging a foot or so off the ground and was tied up! She struggled in her tight restraints, only succeeding in making herself swing back and forth. She shrieked as she swung and kicked her feet, trying to get them onto the ground but to no avail. When she FINALLY stilled, she looked around the room. Someone had tied her up and placed her in an old dusty attic. She sneezed. "Ugh...stupid dust. Who would want to do this?" She wondered out loud, still looking around. She sneezed again, this time the dust and chemical being the cause. "What IS that awful smell?" She inhaled deeply, only to cough and wrinkle her nose in displeasure. "Wait...it that....gasoline?"

The door to the attic opened and a man stepped in. He had neatly kept light brown hair that was just about shoulder length, a bit of stubble, brown eyes, wore a scarlet polo shirt, beige coat, old jeans, dusty black shoes, and had his hands in his pockets. "That's gasoline alright."

Mandy gasped. "Dude! You've gotta help me!" She pleaded, struggling in the ropes again.

He chuckled in amusement and stepped close to her, inches away from her face. "Sorry, princess. That's not happening."

She wrinkled her nose. "You have seriously bad breath." She gagged.

He stepped away and checked, frowning when he did. "Ugh, wow. Sorry." He pulled out some breath spray and used it. "There."

She glared at him. "So if you're not here to help me, are you the one who tied me up here in the first place?"

"Ding, ding, ding!" He said, bopping her on the nose.

Mandy rolled her eyes and shot another look at him. "Okay, so you've tied me up and spilled gasoline on the floor so....you're going to burn me! Holy cow...it's you! You're the pyromaniac who killed my parents and been threatening my friend, aren't you?!?!"

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the sound of everything clicking into place!" He announced to no one in particular. He smirked in amusement at the furious expression on her face.

She screamed in frustration, struggling in her bonds again and started swinging, much to his amusement. He started pushing her as if she was on an actual swing, chuckling. She grunted and managed to kick her legs behind and get him right in the groin.

He groaned and pulled her to a stop before smacking her across the face. "Watch it brat!" He snapped, pulling out a lighter and threatening to use it.

She glared at him but nodded slightly.

"So did you like my little gift last week?"

"What little gift?"

"Oh, you should know. After all, I've been waiting for  you."

"THAT WAS YOU? THAT WAS REAL?" She screamed.

He slapped her across the face. "Keep it down, or I'll light this place up _right_ _now_."  He smirked. "And yeah, it was. Your mothers ashes, some random blood, and a dying flower can do a great deal to scare someone."

She vomited in her mouth, but grimaced and swallowed it back down. "Alright Pyro, what crap do you have with my family anyways? And what about my best friend's family? If you're going to burn me then I at least deserve to know that!"

He huffed. "The other family was just for some fun and to scare you. Your family? Well, your Mom and I were about to get married. As you can see, that didn't work out."

"YOU'RE MY MOM'S EX-FIANCE SHE BARELY TALKED ABOUT?!?!?" Mandy shouted.

He flicked his lighter, the flame appearing. "I'm getting tired of you. Seriously."

"Wait! You have to tell me more! You have to tell me the whole story! I am about to die!" She shrieked desperately.

He tossed the lighter to the ground, flames instantly igniting in a circle around her. He soon had a good portion of the room burning. "Yeah, but I'm not going to do that. You're just like your mother, demanding crap of me. She left me for your father, so I killed her. And now, I'm killing you too." He said. "Have fun in hell, princess!" He yelled as he ran out.

Mandy whimpered as the flames rose higher and higher around her, eating up the old wooden attic. She broke into a sweat and tried to start swinging again, hoping to slightly fan out the fire or at least avoid it. She swung too hard and crashed into the wall, hitting her face and making her nose bleed. She cried out in pain as she continuously swung, only making the flames worse. In the process of going back and forth, her leg got burned a little. Her throat hurt from coughing so much, but she mustered as much strength as she could and screamed.

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Justin walked along the sidewalk mumbling under his breath. "Why did I have to go pick up the spices?" He grumbled, his hood up and hair in his face as always.

Stephanie had gone shopping a few days ago, but had forgotten some very important spices for the meal she was making today. Jason was busy looking for a part time job to help earn some extra money for college, Sam was helping Stephanie prepare the meal, and Danny was disciplining Billy and Charlie who'd been fighting, AGAIN. So that left him to go fetch the missing ingredients. He'd just finished getting them and was on his way home from the store when a smell stopped him. Something was burning. He looked around, thinking someone might be having a barbeque or something. His eyes widened when he saw the smoke rising from a building half a block away. He whipped out his phone and called the fire department before running towards the building.

He screeched to a halt when he arrived, a small crowd already gathering and the authorities on their way. It was the Adam's old place, which hadn't been rented in years and the house had quickly decayed and was scheduled to be torn down soon and now it was burning from the top to the bottom. The attic was practically swallowed by the fire now and curled down towards the lower parts of the building. He watched in awe as the hypnotizing fire danced around and ate up the building. Suddenly, a blood-curling scream came from the building. Once, twice, and a weak third time.

"OH MY GOD! SOMEONE'S UP THERE!" A woman yelled.

Whoever was trapped in there screamed again. "HEEEEEELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Justin gasped. He recognized the voice. "Mandy!"

Without thinking and only following his urge to save her, he ran inside the burning building, moving his hair and throwing down his hood. People tried to stop him, but he was too quick. A minute later, the police arrived.

"Some kid just ran in there!" A man said.

The officer nodded. "The firetruck was right behind me. Do you know who it was?"

"I do! It was one of the kids from that group home! What was it?" A woman asked.

"Evans! He was from Evans Home!"

The officer turned to one of the other police. "Call Daniel Evans, get them here right away." He turned back toward the building. "I hope they're alright."

A second later, the sirens of a fire truck were heard and the vehicle was speeding towards the scene.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin easily avoided the flames downstairs since they weren't as abundant, however, whoever torched the place was careful enough to remove all the fire extinguishers! He dashed upstairs, his mind solely on saving Mandy. When he reached the attic, he kicked at the door, knowing it was too hot to touch by now. The door fell to the floor, burned right off it's hinges and thankfully parting some of the flame. He cried out as the flames lit up his arm and hot embers of the door hit his face. He beat out the flame on his sleeve and wiped his face. His eyes widened and every fiber of his being filled with horror as he saw Mandy hanging there, tied up, barely conscious, and to make matters worse, her ropes were starting to burn!

Instantly he ripped off his jacket and started trying to put out the flames. Once he cleared some what of a path he did the same to Mandy's ropes. He made it just in time, because the ropes had burnt just enough so he could rip them apart. She fell to the ground with a thud, screaming as she was more conscious and because her leg had gotten caught in the flame.

"MANDY!" He shouted, grabbing her arms and pulling her out after quickly putting out the fire on her leg. "Come on!"

She coughed and grabbed onto his hand, being pulled out from the fire. "JUSTIN?!?!?"

He held onto her tightly, running with her out of the room. They dashed down the stairs, which were slowly catching flame as well. They both cried out as they got burned again but kept going still. Just as they were nearing the bottom, Mandy screamed and fell right through the stairs which had gotten weak from being burned. She fell down with a thud.

"JUSTIN! HELP ME! I'M STUCK!"

He shoved his hand down the whole she'd fell through. She reached up and tried to grab it, and he almost pulled her up but her hand slipped. "I CAN'T PULL YOU OUT!"

"THERE'S GOT TO BE ANOTHER WAY! TRY THE SIDE!"

Justin ran down the stairs to the base at the side of the stair case, kicking it as hard as he could, breaking through the wood and quickly finding her.

"MANDY! TAKE MY HAND!" He yelled, reaching out to her.

She grabbed his hand and managed to get out from the stair case.

Justin held onto her as if she was life itself, running as fast as he could despite his and her burns. They looked around for the entrance of the building, but the place was full of fire and smoke that where they were has hardly visible anymore and it would be impossible to go anywhere without getting seriously hurt, more than they already were. Thankfully at that moment the fire department ran in and quickly got them out the rest of the way and to an ambulance. The rest of the crew worked on putting out the fire.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mandy and Justin sat in an ambulance together getting their wounds treated. They looked pretty bad, but they'd be completely healed in a few days. The nurse, Bob, who taking care of Mandy was interviewing her as he helped her.

"How did this happen?" Bob asked.

She coughed and drank some more water before answering. "Well, I was walking with my friend Emily back to her house. She remembered she had to get some medicine for her mom, so we stopped at the drugstore and I waited outside. Next thing I knew, everything went black. When I woke up I was tied up in that attic." She explained, whimpering as he applied some ice to one of her burns.

"I know, I know, it hurts. It'll be over soon." He assured her, putting his hand on hers for a moment before beginning to inspect it. "Can you remember who did this to you?"

She thought for a moment before telling him the description. "He's also the one who burned my house and my parents too, and threated the other family! He said so himself!"

Paul nodded as he bandaged her up. "Anything else?"

"He said he was almost married to my mom. My mom, when she was alive, did mention she was engaged to someone else but that was just about all she ever said about it."

"Alright. There. You're all patched up." He said.

She smiled back slightly, despite her pain.

"And you, did you happen to see this man?" Bob asked Justin, going to inspect his wounds now.

Justin sighed. "No. I didn't really see anything of importance."

"Well don't sound so defeated about it." The nurse chuckled. "You saved her life! That was a brave thing to do." He grew serious for a moment. "Even so, it wasn't the smartest thing to do and it was very dangerous. Maybe next time find others to help you put out the fire a little before rushing in and being the hero. Okay?"

"Okay, and I had to go in when I did because she might have died."

"I know, and again, it was a brave thing for you to do. You must care for this girl a lot."

Both Mandy and Justin shook their heads, but their blushes betrayed their answer.

Bob looked out the window and saw one of the officers talking to a worried family. "I think your people are here. We're going to go talk to them, and then you can come out, okay?"

"Okay."

Bob left, leaving Mandy and Justin alone.

"Justin...you saved my life." She said, turning around and facing him. "Thank you." She said.

He nodded, his eyes locked with hers. "You saved me, so I thought it was only fair I should save you." He said.

She smiled and rolled her eyes at his reference at her taking his punishment.

"Though I'd hate to see you or anyone else hurt." He admitted. "I may be grouchy and pessimistic a lot of the time, but I'm not as bad as everyone else makes me out to be."

She put her hand over his. "That's what I think."

"Ow!" He winced and jerked his hand away.

"Oh, sorry!" She said.

He smirked. "Chill out."

"You chill out!" She teased.

"Girl, I am chill! I'm so chill I practically invented chill!" He joked, snapping his fingers and talking in a sassy tone. He needed something to break the coming awkwardness and wasn't thinking about his reputation to uphold. And anyway, who could be themselves really after almost dying?

She laughed, surprised and amused by his response. He couldn't help laughing along with her, and once they calmed down, Mandy saw something. She saw Justin smile, actually smile. Not his smirk, or corners of his mouth turned up, or a closed lips smile, but a full out teeth showing grin. She beamed back at him, always going to remember the first time she saw him smile and heard him fully laugh, and he laughed like a dolphin.

They calmed down, and after a moment of silence she spoke up.

"Why did you save me?" She asked. "Not that I'm not grateful, don't get me wrong! You could have waited for the authorities."

He sighed a little before he looked her right in the eye. "Because I know what it's like to be burned."

"What do you mean? Did your...parents-"

"Yes...among other things." He said quietly, thankful that she hadn't looked at him while he'd quickly taken his hoodie off to be inspected for other burns. He didn't have very many, as the clothing had protected him some, so he was allowed to put it back on. Now, he moved his sleeve on his arm that wasn't severely burned and showed her four black dots. "If I annoyed my dad he'd put out his cigarettes on me, and if I really made him mad he would force my hand onto the super hot stove top and once he lit my bed on fire when I was asleep. He was...drunk...and...abusive. And then there was my mom..."

"Justin, it's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

He looked at her, tears of reliving the memories in his eye that wasn't covered by his hair. "You were going to find out eventually."

"Why me?"

"Because...you're different."

Mandy wanted to ask him how she was different, but from the look on his face she could tell he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Thankfully, no awkward moments had happened since the ambulance doors opened right then.

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Mandy and Justin were helped out of the ambulance and were both immediately, but carefully, hugged by everyone. The two were quite a sight. Mandy's long hair was an absolute mess, her jeans and t-shirt were singed and dirty, her shoes slightly burnt, and her arms were also burned in addition to the burns from the ropes. Justin was dirty too, had several scorch marks and burns on his bandaged up arm, a cut on his forehead that had been patched up, and one on his ankles too. His hoodie was barely a hoodie in the front anymore and he still had his hair in front of the face, having put it back as soon as the nurse was done inspecting his face. He did have a reason to cover up, he just was afraid what the others would think.

Danny looked at Justin, his arms folded. "So you just ran in there? That was a very foolish thing to do young man." He began, his voice concerned and gentle, not angry or loud.

Justin hung his head, prepared for a good guilt trip.

"You know what else though? You were very brave, and that was a very noble thing to do, saving Mandy like that. I'm just so glad you're safe." The man said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Justin looked up at him, his eyes sparkling with hope.

Danny chuckled. "Do you really think you'd get in trouble for something like this? Just try and be as safe as you can! I am so proud of you!" He said.

Justin smiled one of his actual, rare, smiles and everyone was just as surprised as Mandy had been. What surprised them even more is when he suddenly hugged Danny! The two of them weren't very affectionate to begin with, but that was mostly Justin's doing. He wasn't very affectionate with anyone so this definitely came as a shock. Danny hugged him back, incredibly relieved that he was alright save for a few burns and bruises.

Mandy had already hugged Danny and was currently being hugged and kissed over, and over, and over by Stephanie. She was sniffling and trying not to cry.

"Stephanie, it's okay now! I'm fine, mostly." She giggled.

Stephanie smiled. "I was so worried about you honey. Thank goodness you're alright."

Sam hugged her next. "As soon as you get home, I'm giving you the royal treatment! I am so sorry this happened!"

Billy and Charlie were both crying their eyes out and clinging onto Justin and Mandy. Billy was in Mandy's arms and Charlie in Justin's. They both cuddled the poor little kids until they finally managed to calm down.

Mandy smiled and kissed Billy's forehead. "Hey, you can stop crying now. I'm okay! See? I just have to rest a little while."

The little boy nodded and hugged her one more time before finally being put down.

By now with all the love, hugs, relief of surviving, and everything Justin had done and talked with her about, Mandy was crying. She began crying even harder when she saw Emily running towards her, also crying and with her parents right behind her.

The two best friends sobbed as they held onto each other.

"Good grief, it's like every time we have a sleep over someone catches on fire!" Emily joked, still sniffling.

Mandy managed a little giggle, despite her tears. She kissed her best friend who she also considered family on the cheek, sincerely glad to see her. "I love you sis." She whispered.

"I love you too sis." Emily whispered back.

After hugging and talking with Emily's parents, it seemed as though everyone was there. Except, there was one person missing. Just as they were talking with the officials to see if they could take Mandy back to Emily's house, a car drove up and out ran Jason. He wore a suit and tie, having been doing job interviews for most of the day. He ran towards the scene, greeting everyone and then stopping when he finally came to the two injured teens, and by now he was teary eyed.

He glanced at Justin, looking disappointed. "Dude...."

Justin practically wilted.

Jason laughed heartily and hugged him. "You're such an idiot sometimes, you know? A brave, cool, idiot."

Justin chuckled, knowing he was joking and meant it affectionately.

When Mandy and Jason hugged, it was like they hadn't seen each other for years. He pulled her into a loving embrace before picking her up bridal style and holding her close. Although no one except Sam knew, those two had gotten close quickly and cuddled often so this kind of greeting wasn't unusual for them. Thankfully, no one had seen them do that because an officer had just arrived to tell them something.

"Lynn, I was so worried about you. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. " He said regretfully, walking away from the others so they could be alone. She sat in his lap with her arms around his neck. She smiled, loving how he used her middle name as her nickname. That wasn't the only one either, in addition to Lynn he called her brat, and sweetheart when he was especially worried. Though all those names were mostly for when they were alone, except maybe Lynn, but they weren't in love. Just very close friends, or siblings if you will.

She leaned against him. "Don't beat yourself up. What's important is that you are here now."

They stayed like that for a good ten minutes before finally returning back to the group.

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After finding out that her wounds weren't super severe, talking with the officials, and with permission from Danny and Stephanie, Mandy was allowed to head back to Emily's house. Though they couldn't really dance or run around like they usually did, they still had a fantastic time. As soon as they got back and everyone made sure Mandy wasn't in much pain or anything, she and Emily started to talk about what happened.

"I was so scared Em...I thought I was going to die."

"You didn't though, and I'm so glad that didn't happen and that you're safe."

"I never thought my mom's ex-fiancé would have killed her. I mean, she barely mentioned him."

"How did you know he was her ex-fiancé?"

"He said that he and my mom were going to get married but that didn't happen."

"So if he had issues with your mom, why is he going after you?"

"He killed my dad too, you know. Maybe he had issues with both of them and is coming after me because I'm related to them? I don't know. I don't want to talk about this anymore." Mandy said quietly.

Emily nodded. "That's okay, you don't have to." She said as she sat next to her and held her uninjured hand. "I'm just so glad you're safe."

"Thanks."

"What do you want to do now?"

"Um...sleep?"

"Girl, are you kidding? Just because our activities are a bit more limited cause of your injuries, that doesn't mean we can't have fun!"

Mandy grinned. "Okay, um...how about we make some smoothies?"

"How about we just go buy them instead? I mean they're so much better than the ones we can come up with."

"That sounds good and all but...I don't want to be outside right now."

"Oh...right. I know! My parents had just gone out actually to get some stuff they needed from the store so I can ask them to pick some up on their way back!" "

Mandy frowned. "Are you sure they wouldn't mind?"

Emily scoffed. "Nah! I mean, usually my parents sort of would mind a little but girl, you were just in a fire. They're gonna wait on you hand and foot! And of course they'll do that to me as well, because...like, guilty by association but I'm not guilty. You know what I mean?

Mandy laughed. "Yeah.

A short while later, when Emily's parents had gotten back home, the two girls drinking large strawberry banana smoothies and were looking for something to watch.

"Sometimes I think I'll never grow up." Mandy remarked randomly as she slouched on the couch.

"Why is that?" Emily asked, searching through Netflix and sitting next to her.

"Because I still love watching kids shows sometimes, depends which one though. I love their music, the story and characters and its really fun. I still have dolls and I'm collecting them, and I act like an immature little brat sometimes."

"Oh my gosh, same here! I mean life's no fun if you can't be childish sometimes!"

"FINALLY. SOMEONE WHO GETS ME."

They laughed, giving each other a high five.

Emily suddenly brightened. "Hey, want to binge watch Lazy Town? There's a season here! Season 3!"

"Ooh! Lazy town! Yeah! I've recently rediscovered the show and have finished the first two seasons, so this is perfect!"

The girls had a great time watching the kids show about being healthy and exercising, learning the new songs quickly and singing along. By the time they finished the season, Mandy's head was on Emily's lap and she was thinking about her talk with Justin. She felt so bad for him, having to live with parents like that. She wondered briefly for a moment if they did anything else to him, but shook that thought off and forgot about it since it wasn't really her business and it wasn't a pleasant thing to think about.

Suddenly, something wet hit her forehead.

"Hey! Did you just drip smoothie on me?" She demanded.

"Well I told you to move but you ignored me!"

Mandy smirked. "That's it!" She said, sitting up quickly and poking Emily in the stomach.

Emily shrieked. "Don't you dare!"

"Oh I will! And I have the upper hand this time, because I got hurt you cant get me! So HA!"

"Nooooooooooooooo!"

"Or I could just call your crush instead!"

"Maaaaaaandy!"

She laughed, giving her friend a playful shove. "I'm just kidding you dumbo."

Emily shook her head, giggling. "Hey, want to continue reading that new Ted Dekker book I got?"

"Oh yeah, it's been so long! You'll have to catch me up cause I've forgotten what happened. And you read the first chapter this time, and I'll read the next!"

"Okay! Come on, let's go to my room!"

As the night went on, the girls had a fantastic time together and were extremely happy to have each other. That night, since Mandy didn't have a sleeping bag to bring, they shared Emily's large bed. Emily, who was a year older than her friend, spooned with her best friend/little sister protectively. They were just like sisters and were very affectionate and protective of each other, and even if it might look weird to others they didn't care.

"Mandy, I'm so glad you're safe." She whispered.

"You've said that a million times already." Her friend yawned.

"I know. Good night, love you."

"Good night, love you."

Meanwhile, Justin went to bed happily, thankful Mandy was alright. Though he really had to be careful now, because with the way he had acted today, people might expect him to be like that all the time! She'd reacted well with him telling her a little about his parents and he wondered if he should trust her more. I mean, she was a nice person he supposed. Okay, well perhaps a bit more than just nice. He shook his head, trying to convince himself that he did NOT like her at all. Especially not in that way!

The moon shone brightly on that cold summer's night, everything at peace and everyone alright.


	11. A Little History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why Jason and Mandy are so close.

The girls woke up early the next morning, having gone to bed sooner rather than later because of Mandy's injuries. Neither felt like getting up, so they just laid in bed and talked.

"I miss Jason." Mandy said.

Emily yawned and turned to face her. "Really? A lot?"

"Yeah, but it's just the normal kind of missing someone."

Her friend smirked. "No it's not."

Mandy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Girl, I've known you since kindergarten. I can read you like a book, remember? And right now I can tell by the look in your eyes its not missing someone like normal. It's something else."

"Right as always."

"So what's going on with you and him?"

She sighed. "Well...I don't know. It's...special."

"You in love?"

Mandy gave her a harsh scowl. "No. We're like really close brothers and sisters."

"Aren't you like that with everyone?"

"Not Justin, because he's Justin. Everyone else, sure I guess."

"So what's so special about you and Jason?"

"Well I've already told you everything, you know how he comforted me after I had my nightmare and gave me my nickname, and everything else so that should give you enough to answer your question."

"Something else must have happened for you two to be as close as you are now."

"Oh alright, here's what happened last week. Remember when I told you about us going to the mall? Well the day after..."

***************

FLASHBACK

***************

Mandy couldn't shake her admiration for Jason. She'd only been here a week, and already they were starting to become like brother and sister. He'd given her cheery greetings in the mornings, chatted with her, and they shared a few interests such as monster truck rallies, writing, reading, and a few TV shows as well. His general concern and wanting to help everyone clashed well with her blunt and sassy personality. And now, because of some playful insult she'd made the previous night about him being a horrible brother, he was going to take her on a tour today. She sat on her bed, swinging her feet and waiting for him, trying not to be impatient. She sighed, and stared down at the outfit she'd chosen. She wore faded looking jeans, a light pink long sleeved shirt and a magenta scarf around her neck. She was about to go and see what was taking him so long, when he knocked and came in. He wore black pants, light pink polo shirt and had a huge cheery grin on his face. "Ready to go?"

Mandy took one look at him and giggled.

He looked confused. "What?"

"We're wearing matching shirts!" She explained, smirking. "Just wait for me downstairs, I'm going to change."

He finally realized their unintentional color match and rolled his eyes. "Please, you're fine."

"So are you going to change?"

"Nope."

She groaned. "We can't go out like this!"

He chuckled. "Embarrassing, is it? Look, if it bothers you that much, I'll get another shirt."

She smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

When he came back he wore a simple gray t-shirt. "Better?" he teased.

The two headed out in the car, planning to walk along the city streets and just see the sights. Mandy grinned as she watched everything pass by in a colorful blur. "It's so beautiful here." She said.

Jason hummed in agreement before putting on his favorite CD mix he'd made. "You like rock? Or mostly pop like Sam?" He asked.

"I totally love rock!" She said, and nearly shrieked when the first song started playing. "You like AC/DC too?"

"DUH! They're only the best old rock band ever!" He said. "I can't believe you like it! No one else in the house does but me!"

She smirked, "Why didn't you tell me this before? And I don't know. Aerosmith is pretty high up there too! Ooh! Here comes my favorite part!"

They both sang the chorus in unison, laughing when they finished at how ridiculous they both sounded.

When the song ended and they'd sang until the end they couldn't help laughing. A calm Elvis song started playing next, and they were quiet for a little while until they got into town. He parked the car and helped her out. "So where do you want to go first?"

She shrugged. "You're my tour guide." She said.

Their tour started off with seeing some of the popular restaurants, the gorgeous park, the pet store, and finally the regular stores. He first took her into the clothing stores at her insistence.

"I'm going to go try this on!" She declared, holding a gorgeous red dress.

He sighed. "This isn't a shopping trip you know. We've got other places to go."

"Like where?" She asked smugly, knowing they'd pretty much seen everything.

"It's a secret." He said with a smirk.

"You don't have anywhere do you? Come on! You try on some clothes too!" She ordered, actually pushing him towards the men section.

Jason was only slightly surprised at her demands by now, since she'd been here a week now. He didn't mind indulging her once in a while though, in addition to being a little demanding she could also be really funny when she tried to get him or someone else to do something. After five minutes of her manhandling him and trying to get him to try to go to the changing rooms to no avail, he finally complied. Except, she had to finish trying on clothes before he did.

He pretended to be her paparazzi and was very amused by her modeling which was mostly silly and goofy. When his turn came, he sighed and whined about it until she talked him into doing it like she usually did. She was on the floor with laughter as he put on his fashion show. He did the shoulder glace, the muscle flex, the superhero, the stoic stand, among many others. He had to admit he was having fun, and he didn't really care what people thought, even though a small group of girls had gathered to watch him. When they finally left the store, they talked about each other's outfits.

"You know, I can't believe you wore something pink." Mandy remarked. "Again."

He shrugged. "Guys can wear pink."

"Yeah, but it's usually not a very manly color."

Jason smirked and flexed his biceps. "Who needs manly color when I've got these babies?"

She rolled her eyes. "Where to next?"

"To the tech store!"

"Yay!" She cheered, pretending to be excited. "I've already seen it but apparently we're going anyway!"

As soon as they walked in, the young Asian man behind the desk greeted them. "Hello! Ah, Jason! Good to see you again!" He said, shaking his hand warmly.

"Hey Kai! Been a while, hasn't it?" Jason said.

Mandy smiled shyly and shook his hand before going to browse around the store.

Kai watched her and nodded. "New girlfriend?" He asked.

Jason chuckled. "No way! I just met her a week ago. She's staying with us, the final person in our home."

"Oh, I see. You know what? You should show her something really special, to show her you are always there for her." The man suggested.

"Why?"

Kai leaned against the counter and sighed. "She looks like she's worried about something, scared even. I know by now the two of you must be pretty close, so it wouldn't be weird."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes, on both accounts. And also, you know me! I got very lucky and can read people like books. Right now your a little creeped out, but not a lot because you know me."

"You're just like that Sherlock guy."

"Sherlock Holmes? I suppose I am a bit like him."

"Anyway, I have to agree with what you said earlier. She has been a bit jumpy lately, and I didn't think it was anything serious but if you think so I'll try and figure out what's going on."

"Show her that you will always be there for her, don't make her tell you if she doesn't want to. Let her feel that she can come to you when she needs to, so just let her know you are there for her." Kai advised. "It will help you both, and when someone is new to a home it is important to make friends with them quickly, and you are already doing that well. Her parents burned down in a fire I saw on the news last week, and now is your chance to help her and befriend her before you go to college. I know you would regret not spending enough time with her when you leave. Take the chance now."

Jason nodded. "Okay, I'll do that." He said.

Kai eyed him curiously. "There's something else."

"How do you know?"

"Dude, I'm Kai. I always know." He said with a chuckle.

When their laughter had calmed down, Jason agreed with him.

"There is something else. I think I know her. She seems and looks so familiar, but I can't put my finger on it." He said.

Kai shrugged. "Maybe you'll find out later."

Eventually they left the tech store and went around the rest of the town, both being pretty tired by the end of the tour. Mandy was glad to see the house when they got back, looking forward to collapsing on her bed and resting a bit before dinner. Just as they got out of the car however, Jason claimed he had one more place to show her. The two walked along the little stream near  the house and kept going for a long time until they reached a large ton of bushes in a secluded grassy area filled with lots of trees.

Mandy frowned. "What's wrong? Why did we stop?"

He just grinned proudly. "You said you like the outdoors, right?"

She nodded.

"Well you'll love this!"

He pushed some of the plants aside and pushed as hard as he could against the bush, which quickly fell away to a hedge, which seemed to have a door behind it. It finally gave way, and revealed a secret garden. Mandy gasped as she headed inside and Jason shut the wooden door behind her. They were surrounded by a ring of hedge all around them, the floor was made of a salmon colored tile, but in the middle there was a large patch of soil with a large apple tree in the middle and a stone barrier around it. On the left and right sides of the tree were iron benches with bushels of blue and purple flowers in pots on each end. There was a large old trunk opposite the doorway behind the tree, and to top it all off Jason grabbed a remote and pushed a button and some white christmas lights lit up the hedge. Mandy was absolutely hypnotized.

"Oh Jason! It's...amazing!" She shrieked, walking around and admiring every inch of the place, which was about the size of a slightly larger bedroom.

He chuckled. "Figured you'd like it." He said, plucking two fruits from the tree and tossing one to her. "Apple?"

She caught it expertly and took a bite. "Mmm!"

He took a bit of his own, enjoying the flavor of the sweet juice on his tongue. He went over to a bench and sat down, while she sat on the other across from him.

"Who's garden is this?" She asked as she continued to devour her fruit.

"Mine."

She almost choked. "Yours? It must have taken forever to get it like this!"

He nodded. "Sure did, but it was worth it. I find gardening to be a peaceful hobby, and sometimes I just need time to think and be by myself. So I found this place one day and fixed it up, and lucky enough for me, the tree had already started growing. It's probably some club house or something someone gave up on, because when I'd asked around most everyone had no idea it was even there. And when I'd found the old guy who tried to start it, and since he'd given up on it he told me to go ahead and do what I wanted with it."

"You took me to your secret place? Why? I don't want to intrude." Mandy said, starting to feel uncomfortable.

Jason shook his head. "You're not intruding, trust me. I invited you in here, so relax."

"What's in that old trunk?" Mandy asked, going over and sitting next to it.

He followed and opened it, revealing several leather bound journals, a box of video games and several DS's, some non-perishable snacks, a large beige tarp, water bottles, a miniature lantern, a few books to read, a sleeping bag, and a picture frame with a couple on their wedding day.

She looked through the items curiously. "A survival kit? Do you ever camp out here?" She asked.

"Yeah, sometimes. Especially when the house gets crazy. Danny and Stephanie know I have a spot to camp at, and they know it's close but that's about it." He said.

Mandy picked up the photo of the wedded couple. "Are...are these your parents?" She asked quietly.

Jason took a deep breath. "Yeah...I lost mine too, remember? When I was looking for them someone who knew them and had been friends with them gave me the picture."

She put the picture back and closed the trunk. "Oh, yeah. I'm sorry."

He shrugged.

Things were slightly awkward and sad until she found something to talk about.

"You know what's weird?"

"What?"

"We've only known each other for a week and I feel like I've known you longer."

"Same here! And you look and seem SO familiar to me, I just don't know why."

"Maybe you've seen me around somewhere?" She suggested.

"Maybe. How long have you known about Evans House?" He asked.

"Ever since I was five, or maybe sooner. I can't remember hardly anything before that age. We'd pass by it all the time, and sometimes Emily and I would sneak around and peek in to see what was going on. There was this little blonde boy who used to be there all by himself for a while, but I forgot his name. We'd play sometimes at the park, his mother always so nice to me and Emily when she came. I don't know what happened to him. When I got I didn't keep much of an eye on the place anymore, and I really haven't seen it except for passing by on my way somewhere, until now that is." She explained.

He stared at her, his jaw hanging open. "It's you! That's why you look so familiar! You're the little girl I used to play with!"

"You're the little blonde boy?"

"Yeah! And the person who you thought was my mom was really Stephanie!"

"OH MY GOSH!" They shouted.

Once the initial shock wore off, they reminisced together how they'd play and how much things had changed. Likes, dislikes, and things they'd remembered about each other from that long time ago were exchanged until Jason checked his watch.

"It's getting late, we should get back soon."

Mandy looked disappointed. "Aw. Is there any other cool nature place you want to show me? Please say yes! This was like the best part of the whole tour!" She whined.

He checked the time again before nodding. "There is a shortcut to the lake, if you want to go there again. We can't stay too long though."

She beamed, jumping up and down in agreement.

Much to her surprise, there was another hidden door in the hedge. They made it through and began to crouch through a path where all bushes and plants had been separated. It took them a few minutes, but they finally made it to the end and passed through the bushes and made it to the shore of the large lake. She couldn't take her eyes off of the place. Even though she'd already been here once, it still felt as magical as the first time. Lots of birds were singing too, and she even saw a rabbit.

"Dude, you officially rock." She said as she walked along the shore with him following.

He chuckled. "Thanks Tree Hugger."

"Hey!" She protested, but smiled just the same, knowing he was teasing. "Look who's talking, Rock N' Roll rookie!"

He gasped in mock offense. "Rookie?"

"You heard me." She said before she ran off laughing.

Jason chased after her, and they were having a great time until Mandy got careless with where she was going.

"Mandy! Watch out! That part of the ground isn't stable!" He shouted as she ran towards the deeper end of the lake.

She couldn't hear him however, and her foot landed on the loose piece of ground and it crumbled underneath her instantly. She screamed as she fell into the water with a big splash. Jason ran over to where she was, and saw her struggling to try to get to the surface when she should have been up by now since she knew how to swim. He realized it must be the plants at the bottom getting her foot caught! He dove in after her, broke the vines and swam her over to the dock, helping her up and laying her down on it.

"Mandy? Mandy? Can you hear me?" He asked, checking her pulse.

It was still completely normal, but she didn't respond.

He began pumping her chest, after doing it five times he was about to administer CPR, but thankfully she woke up and started coughing.

"Hey, hey, its okay. You're alright." He said, rubbing her back as she coughed and hacked. When she finally was able to breathe normally again, she hugged him tightly. He held onto her, trying to get her to calm down and stop shaking.

"It's okay, you're fine. You're out of the water now. I'm here with you and you're okay." He assured her. "Lynn, it's alright, you're safe now."

She relaxed at his words and mumbled something he couldn't understand.

"What?"

She moved to look at him. "You...saved my life. Thank you."

He smiled. "Course I'd save your life, you're a complete brat but I still care about you."

"Oh shut up, you idiot." She teased.

"Idiot huh? Is that any way to treat the guy who just saved you?"

She scoffed and spoke in an exaggerated British accent."One thousand thanks, my dear sir, for being so amazing and saving my life."

He chuckled. "You're welcome."

The two hugged one more time before finally heading home.

**********************

END OF FLASHBACK

**********************

"And that's what happened. I'm shocked because yesterday was the second time I've had a near death experience. Still, with Jason I feel like I can talk to him about almost anything. He's really nice, kind, funny, he's like my brother and he is surprisingly cuddly." Mandy said, ending her story with a giggle.

Emily laughed. "Wow! Someone sure got lucky! It would be nice to have an older brother friend like that. And it IS strange, I mean it's like the universe REALLY wants you to die." She said.

"Oh shut up."

"I have to ask though, don't you guys ever fight?"

"Oh yeah! Lot more than you'd think actually. I'll tell you later though. I'm too hungry right now."

"Want some ice cream?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Soon, the girls sat at the table with a large but unusual breakfast. They had strawberry and chocolate ice cream, bacon and sausage, bananas, blueberries, syrup, and soda.

"This has got to be the unhealthiest breakfast I've ever had." Emily said before shoving a handful of blueberries in her mouth. "Good thing my parents aren't up yet."

Mandy nodded as she poured syrup all over her bacon and sausage.

"Are you sure you aren't in love with him?" Her friend asked, her question both random and suspicious.

Mandy glared at her. "I'm SURE! That is DISGUSTING! He's 18 and I'm 15! And like I said WE ARE LIKE BROTHER AND SISTER! Maybe not like normal brothers and sisters, just a little more affectionate!" She snapped.

Emily raised her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright, chill. Anyways, back to my earlier question. Do you guys ever fight?" She asked.

Mandy sighed. "Yeah, everyone does. Usually it starts with him pranking me. We fight sometimes, and other times he has to keep me in line even though that's Danny and Stephanie's job. He'll just warn me with my language, tell me to watch my attitude, or threaten to tell on me. As far as fighting goes? Hmm...we did have one a few days ago. Here's what happened."

*************

FLASHBACK

*************

Jason's eyes welled up with tears as he watched the Lion King with Charlie and Billy, who had fallen asleep. Mufasa was just falling off the cliff and screaming when the tears that had gathered in his eyes fell without his permission. Even though he hated to admit it, he could be a real softie for movies sometimes. Suddenly, without warning Mandy came in. She froze, saw his tears and the movie he was watching, then promptly burst out laughing. He glared at her and quickly wiped away his tears.

"Hahaha!" She laughed. "You CRY at disney movies? You LIKE disney movies?" She asked. Much to his annoyance she began mocking his tears. "Oh boo-hoo! Mufasa is dead! I'm so sad! I'm eighteen but I'm really just a big baby!"

He rolled his eyes and turned the movie off. "Shut up! You watch disney too!"

She smirked and leaned against the couch. "Yeah, but I'm a girl."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's more acceptable for girls to watch Disney and cry at it than guys."

"Riiiight."

She grinned evilly. "Just wait until everyone else hears about this!" She giggled and turned to leave.

Jason sighed. "Geez! What's your problem today? Oh, that's right! You're just being a brat because you got in trouble with Danny for complaining about your chores and doing them horribly. Poor baby has hand cramps from writing lines!"

Mandy narrowed her eyes. "Shut. up. Just wait! I'll tell everyone!" She hissed. And with that, she was gone.

Just as he expected, she didn't tell anyone. At least, not yet. Whether she did or didn't tell, he was still going to get back at her for mocking him. What gave her that right anyway? He'd seen her watch Disney movies, and she'd cried a few times too! He figured she was still cranky about getting lectured and having to write lines. Still though, when she was out in the garden playing with Billy and Charlie, he snuck into her room. He smirked, figuring he'd take something of hers and make her go crazy looking for it. After looking around, he stole the stuffed fox from her bed, not knowing the sentimental value it had.

Later that day, he was just chilling in his room reading a book when a scream suddenly pierced the air. He chuckled to himself as he went to investigate. Everyone else was already there.

"What happened?" Danny asked urgently.

She immediately ran and hugged Stephanie. "Bandit, my stuffed fox, is gone!" She said.

Sam began to look around her room. "Did you look everywhere here?"

"Everywhere!" Mandy said.

Billy tugged her arm. "What's so special about Bandit?"

"It's the only thing I have left from my mom!"

Jason's eyes widened. He hadn't known that. Now he felt kind of bad for taking it and wanted to give it back. At the same time he wanted to keep it from her just a little longer. The afternoon passed and everyone was diligently searching for Bandit, except him. He lied and said he was looking, but he merely went back to reading and kept thinking about the fox in the bottom drawer of his dresser.

At supper, Mandy was devastated.

Stephanie gave her a sympathetic look. "Hon, I'm sorry we couldn't find him. He'll turn up soon, I'm sure."

Mandy didn't say anything as she poked at her food.

Danny noticed. "I know you're upset, but you need to eat. Alright? After supper maybe you can check your room again."

She nodded solemnly.

"Mandy, you can sleep with Nemo tonight if you can't find Bandit!" Billy offered, indicating his large stuffed fish.

She smiled a little. "Thanks Billy."

Charlie frowned and shook her head. "You are sad! You have an appointment with Doctor Charlie after supper! Doctor Charlie says you need lots of cuddles!"

Sam giggled. "After your appointment, we could check out that TV show I was telling you about if it's okay with them."

Danny and Stephanie agreed.

Justin was quiet, as usual. However, it wasn't very usual for Jason to be quiet too. When the meal was finished, he decided it was time to give her the fox back. He went to her room, only to find her madly searching in her closet.

"Looking for this?" He asked, holding the fox out and waving it around.

She gasped and rushed over to him, snatching it out of his hand and cuddling it close to her. "Where did you find him?"

Jason smirked. "I didn't."

Mandy looked confused for a minute before her mouth dropped open as she finally realized. She pinned him with her iciest glare. "You STOLE and HID him!" She shrieked. "How could you?!?!?"

He scoffed. "Chill out. And it's not like I ripped it or anything. I just hid it."

"It's the only thing I have left of my mom! Why'd you hide him anyway? Tell me!" She demanded.

"To get back at you for making fun of me earlier."

"You seriously can't take a joke!"

"Neither can you!"

"I can! It's just not funny when something of extreme value is involved!"

"Whatever! You have your foxy-woxy now and you're pacified so shut up."

"Hey! I'm not a baby!"

"Really? Could have fooled me with the way you were blubbering and whining about foxy earlier."

"What's your problem?"

"More like what's your problem? Just because you got in trouble, that doesn't give you the right to be a ***** to everyone!"

"UGH! LEAVE ME ALONE. Stop being such an-"

He cut her off. "Watch your language." He snapped.

"You're the one who should watch your language! And don't tell me what to do! You arent the boss of me you *******!"

Jason just stared at her, his eyes burning with anger. "Well EXCUSE me, BRAT!"

"IDIOT!"

"You know what? I don't know why Danny and Stephanie are even keeping you! You've got a terrible attitude and cant take a joke! They just felt sorry for you." He hissed. All his common sense had just flown out of the window and he was being controlled entirely by emotion now.

She gasped, deeply hurt and taken aback by his words. She blinked back tears as she growled her response. "I could say the same for you! And at least my parents didn't ABANDON me and leave me in A CARDBOARD BOX ON A DOORSTEP!"

Jason closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He didn't say anything. He just flipped her off and left.

She slammed her door and threw herself on her bed with a huff.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily stared at Mandy in shock. "Seriously? Wow! Mountain out of a molehill much?"

Mandy blushed as she helped clean things up from breakfast. "Yeah, kind of."

"So what happened after that?"

"Well...it turns out Danny heard the entire thing."

"Oh crap."

"Yeah. We both got our mouths washed out for our bad language, a long lecture, were grounded from TV for a week and had some extra chores assigned to us."

"Well, a week with no TV and extra chores isn't too bad. At least he didn't spank you."

"Yeah."

"Did you guys make up?"

"Of course!"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mandy curled into a ball under her bed, Jason's words echoing through her head. "You know what? I don't know why Danny and Stephanie are even keeping you! You've got a terrible attitude and cant take a joke! They just felt sorry for you." She closed her eyes tightly, tears flowing without her permission. She held Bandit closer, trying not to cry. Looking back, she realized just how terrible SHE'D been to him. Mocking and making fun of him for the whole Disney thing when she cried several times too.

And then all the terrible things she'd said crashed into her mind. She groaned, burdened with guilt. She didn't fight with him very often, but whenever she did it was extremely painful and she hated it. Perhaps she had overreacted a little bit about her fox being stolen. Although she wasn't the only one at fault. She waited and stayed under her bed for a while until she couldn't take the guilt anymore. She crawled out and headed to Jason's room, knocked on his door.

"Come. in." He snapped.

She cautiously peeked in, finding him sitting in a chair looking out his window, arms crossed and irritation apparent all over his face. "Um...Jason?"

He didn't even turn around. "What?"

"I just wanted to apologize. I'm really, really, really, really sorry for all the things I said and for making fun of you." She said, her voice cracking slightly.

He sighed and stood. He didn't say anything until finally his anger melted away. She was sorry, and so was he. He'd said some pretty awful things too and had been a bit harsh. He finally turned around, arms still folded but his angry expression had turned to one of sadness. "Apology accepted. And...I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been like that, and I shouldn't have said those things."

She nodded. "You're forgiven."

They stared at each other for a moment until Mandy ran to him and he wrapped his arms around her. Relief flooded her as she hugged him, familiar with his body spray and warmth. She instantly felt happy and much better. Everything was forgiven now, and even though they were still going to be punished, she was glad they'd made up. Jason was relieved too, because he hated fighting with his good friend/sister. They hugged standing for a few minutes until he sat down in the chair and she sat on his lap.

"You okay now, Lynn?" He asked softly.

She nodded. "Uh-huh. You?"

"Good, and yeah me too."

*********************

END OF FLASHBACK

*********************

"Awww! And they all lived happily ever after!" Emily teased.

Mandy rolled her eyes, but smiled just the same. "Shut up!"

"So who do you think that guy was anyway?"

"What guy?"

"The one who tried to kill you, DUH."

Mandy shrugged. "Aside from being my mom's ex-fiancé I don't know."

"Did she ever talk about him?"

"No, not very often but what she said wouldn't be helpful."

"At least he's gone now, and you got to come over."

"Gone for now! And yeah, this has been fun, thanks for having me over."

Emily smiled. "No problem! And girl, the fun isn't over yet!"

"Really? What are we going to do now?" Mandy asked as she helped clean things up.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out!"


	12. Time at the Park & Sneaking out in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandy goes to research more about the pyromaniac and discovers something shocking

Mandy giggled madly as she swung on her favorite swing at the park nearby the house. Sam swung next to her and couldn't help but smile at her friend's childish antics. A favorite summer activity of everyone was to go to the park, and out of everyone, even Billy and Charlie, Mandy loved it most of all. To be frank, everyone was so relieved to see her being herself again. After nearly being killed in the fire she had become a lot quieter and distant. She clung to everyone as if they'd disappear in a second and disliked going out in fear of getting kidnapped again. Now she was just like she was before.

She laughed again as she swung high into the air and back again, having not been on a swing in quite a while and not caring one bit about what other people thought of her. Eventually, her laughter and smiled disappeared and she slowed to a stop.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked, stopping quickly.

Mandy shook her head. "Not really, no."

"But?"

"Well, it's been a week and a half since I was attacked. Only in these past few days have I gotten my courage back."

"Right."

"Despite being able to go out again without fear, that doesn't mean I don't think about it. I think about it a lot of the time actually."

"Why? You were caused so much pain, I don't see why you'd want to dwell on it."

"I just can't help but wonder about the man who did that to me and my parents." She explained. "He was my Mom's ex-fiancé that she hardly ever talked about. She'd mention him from time to time and say how he was such a romantic, such a sweet talker, such a hypnotizing man. Then she'd say how all those wonderful qualities were the demise of their relationship. That's all she ever said, other than the fact that their romance was only for about a few months before getting engaged."

"Did he say anything to you? Anything important?"

"Other than the engagement being broken, not really."

"Maybe he was abusive or something? Your mother did say that all those good qualities were the demise of their relationship. I know that doesn't make sense, but maybe he used those good qualities to lure her back to him every time she ran off?"

"That might be it, I'm not sure. All I know is that my mom wouldn't have left him without good reason or with a cold heart." Mandy said thoughtfully.

Someone startled them.

"What're you girls talking about?"

"Stephanie!" Sam sighed. "Don't scare us like that!"

The woman laughed and leaned against the swing set pole. "Sorry, ain't my fault you were so distracted. What were you talking about though?"

"The guy who nearly killed Mandy." Sam said.

"Well I'll be! Why on earth are you two talking about that?" Stephanie gasped. "Silly girls and their silly conversations."

Mandy grinned cheekily. "You're so southern." She teased. "Anyways, we were just trying to figure out what exactly happened between my mother and her ex-fiancé. Then we can find out why he killed her and why he wants ME dead. We've never even met until he nearly killed me. And you know what else? I'm really curious to find out why and how he became a pyromaniac in the first place. Think we can go and do some research at the library or something?"

"Yeah! We don't know if or when she'll get attacked again, so we got to find stuff out as soon as possible." Sam explained.

Stephanie sighed. "I don't know girls, I'll have to talk to Danny about it. You're right Sam, we don't know if or when she'll get attacked again. That means protecting her is our main priority and it ain't safe to let her out on her own with that man on the loose."

"I can protect myself! I'm not an idiot, and I'm not a baby!" Mandy snapped defensively.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry Stephanie....what I meant to say was, I can see your point but I just want to say I'm not completely defenseless."

"That's better."

Sam suddenly grinned. "What if she has us go with her? Jason and I can stay with her and help her research! Justin too, but I doubt he'll come."

"I reckon that idea's the better one. I still have to talk with Danny, but I sure don't see why not."

As Stephanie went back to her husband, she found him laughing with Billy and Charlie by a large nearby tree. Those three were laughing as if they'd seen the most hysterical thing in their lives. Their giggles were so contagious, that she just about caught them herself!

"You sure cheered them up quickly! When you brought them here they were sadder than a salamander in a sandstorm!" She joked. "How'd you manage that?"

Just before going to the park, Billy and Charlie had gotten themselves into some trouble.

***********

EARLIER

***********

"Is the coast clear?" Charlie whispered.

"All clear!" Billy whispered back.

Grinning mischievously, the little girl tip toed over to the cabinets and climbed up the step ladder they'd dragged in. Leaning over, she grabbed the big rainbow package of cookies with her little hands and then carefully climbed down.

"Great job Charlie!"

And faster then you could say patch the pirate the two kids devoured the entire big package of cookies! Crumbs littered the floor and frosting was smeared all over their faces. They lay sprawled out on the floor, holding their full tummies.

"Ooh. I think we ate too much." Charlie mumbled.

Billy just groaned. "We gotta hide the empty cookie thing." He said.

Both kids gasped as they heard approaching footsteps.

"Hurry! Put it in the trash!" He gasped.

The girl dashed to the trash and shoved the empty cookie package inside, wincing at the loud crunch of the plastic.

"Charlie! Billy!" Danny called, coming down the stairs. "We're going to the park! Where are you?"

"You forgot to close the cabinets!"

"You do it!"

"No!"

"Yes! We don't have much time! Hurry up!"

And just as Billy had climbed to the top of the step ladder and shut the cabinet, Danny entered the kitchen. He stared only for a moment before folding his arms and giving the two naughty children a disapproving look.

"Charlie! Billy! I have told you at least four times today to leave the cookies alone. You already had some at lunch today. I was going to bring the rest to the park for our picnic snacks, but now we don't have any because you two ate them all." He admonished.

The little cookie culprits looked down at the floor.

"Go stand in the corner." He ordered.

They took corners opposite to each other in the kitchen. As they served their time outs, Danny went about cleaning the kitchen. He put away the step ladder, swept the floor, and took out the trash. He ignored their shuffling and sniffling as he grabbed the picnic basket and packed it with some apples, grapes, chips, dip, and water bottles. When it was all packed and ready, he released them from their corners.

"Alright you two, come here."

Charlie and Billy stood in front of him looking guiltier than a puppies with a tail between their legs. "We're sorry for taking the cookies. And we're sorry for not obeying."

He nodded. "It's forgiven and forgotten. Next time you're told not to do something, you don't do it. Got it?"

"Yes sir!"

Danny smiled. "Good. Now get over here so I clean those faces." He sat them on the counter and began cleaning them up. "Since you two ate all the cookies, you won't be allowed any snacks at the picnic."

Billy pouted. "Why not?" He huffed.

"Cause you two didn't obey, and I reckon if you eat anything else you're gonna get mighty sick." He explained.

Once everyone had gotten into the car, Stephanie and the rest of the family were very excited.

"I haven't been to a park in years!" Mandy cheered. "I can't wait!"

"And I can't wait for the picnic! I'm starved!" Jason said.

Sam rolled her eyes. "You just had lunch an hour ago!"

"So what? I saved room for the Ripley's Radical Rainbow cookies! They're the absolute best and we don't get them very often!"

"If you like sugar paste and stale rocky bland cookies, sure. And I don't see why I have to go to the park too. I'm not a child like the rest of you." Justin complained.

Everyone was used to his grumpy ways, so they just ignored his grumbling. Although Mandy did wish she could get him to cheer up somehow, even though he did have a reason or two to be grumpy.

"Stephanie, can't we just have one now?" Mandy pleaded. "I've never even tried one!"

Danny chuckled. "And you say you're fifteen." He teased.

"Hey!" She giggled.

Stephanie searched the basket, frowning as she did. "Hmm. Well that's strange. They're not here! Honey, did you forget to pack them?"

"No I didn't sweetheart. Charlie and Billy got into them just as I was coming down to pack the basket."

"Children!" She began to scold.

"Now Steph, I already punished them."

"Well alright then."

Charlie and Billy hung their heads.

Everyone continued to chatter on excitedly, but that didn't help matters for the two sulky kids in the backseat.

When they got to the park they all ran off and started playing despite their age. The two youngest stayed behind, still feeling a bit guilty. Stephanie stayed with them and tried to get them to play, but to no avail. Finally, she'd had enough and marched up to her husband.

"Daniel Evans, I've had absolutely enough!"

"Enough of what?"

"I won't tolerate my children being so upset over something already passed!"

"Are they still feelin' bad? Well, you go on and stay with the others. I'm gonna see what I can do about those long faces."

****************

BACK TO PRESENT

****************

Danny laughed heartily. "I just did some of my funny voices and it fixed em right up!"

Charlie giggled. "And he wouldn't stop!"

"You saved us just in time!" Billy snickered.

She shook her head, barely keeping from laughing herself. "Well you two go on and play, I've got to talk to Danny."

As soon as the two kids ran off, Stephanie sat by her husband and he put his arm around her shoulder.

"Will you quit laughing? I swear, you're gonna make yourself sick." She said, trying hard not to catch it.

He tried to stop, only to snort by holding it in. "I'm sorry darlin'. I guess I'm so funny I just crack myself up!"

"Oh quiet you." She giggled, then grew serious."Listen, I need to talk to you about Mandy."

"What's happened? Has she been crying again?"

"No. The thing is, she wants to go and investigate the man who tried to kill and killed her parents. I'm all for it because she's only just getting out and being her old self again. Since we want her to be safe, she suggested that Jason and Sam go with her and help her research."

"Hmm...well...she would be safer with those two."

"So what should we tell her?"

"We're gonna tell her no." He said firmly.

Stephanie's jaw dropped. "No? Why on earth not? She deserves to know!"

Danny shot her a vicious glare. "She might deserve to, but she won't."

She scoffed. "And why is that?"

"Woman, don't play dumb with me. You know exactly why." He snapped angrily.

She pushed his arm off, scooted away from him, and looked away.

His expression softened. "Darlin'...I-"

"Don't speak to me like that!" She said, looking back at him with tears in her eyes.

He sat closer to her and pulled her to him. "I know, I'm sorry. I won't, alright?"

She nodded and leaned against him again.

"It's just...um...you know why I lashed out."

"I do, but you really need to control it or fix that reason."

"I know. Never mind that for now. Let's just go have fun with the kids." He said as he stood, then smirked when he saw her still sitting there drinking water. He grabbed her hand and winked at her. "Come on, honey blossom." He said, using her special nickname.

"Danny, wouldn't you like to kiss me on the bench first?" She grinned, putting her hands in his.

"Well, the lips would be fine."

"Oh, you're so romantic!"

"You're so beautiful!"

"You're so strong!"

"Your hair!"

"Your eyes!"

"Your nose!"

"Your lips!"

"That too!"

"Oh Danny!"

"Stephanie!"

"Danny!"

"Stephanie!"

They both leaned into a passionate, romantic kiss. And all they did was smile and move behind a tree when they heard everybody groaning and gagging. Everyone had a fantastic time at the park, and ate the whole picnic! Once they arrived home,  Mandy hung out with Sam in her room. The two girls lay sprawled on the bed, playing on their phones and chatting with each other about what had happened in the past week and a half.

"I wish something more interesting would happen." Sam sighed.

Mandy's eyebrow shot up. "Interesting things have happened!"

"Like what?"

"We went to see the museum, I got to go shopping with Stephanie for some more clothes, we went to the gym, we went to the lake again, had a day in on the internet, you got in trouble for some magazines that were found in your room-"

"Didn't I tell you not to bring that up?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. Um, you read me one of your Ted Dekker books, so that took a few days. It was AMAZING though! You've seriously gotten me hooked! And the past few days have mostly just been chilling out and watching Good Mythical Morning and other awesome youtube channels."

"It's been fun I'll admit, but I kind of want to go out again." Sam said.

"Me too. Why don't we go to the library? Want to help me try and find the pyro dude?" Mandy suggested.

"Good idea! Besides, the sooner we find out who he is the sooner you'll be safe. What did Danny say about going?"

"I don't know yet. Stephanie said she'd talk to him about it. Hopefully he says yes."

"Why wouldn't he? What time is it anyway? We should go now if we can, since we have no idea how long it's going to take to find out who he is, if we can find out that is."

Mandy checked her phone. "It's four fifteen. How about we go after supper? I don't want to have to make more than one trip."

"Good idea. In the meantime though, did you see this morning's GMM?"

"Um, no I don't think so."

"Oh my word, it was hilarious! Oh, and Lilly Singh added a new vlog today and Buzzfeed uploaded several videos too!"

"Whoa, that's a lot to watch."

"We'd better get started then!"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that evening, Mandy was helping Danny clean up the kitchen after supper. There wasn't much to do, so it wouldn't take them very long. As she gathered the plates and cleared the table, she began thinking about Stephanie talking with him. That brought the topic of going to research the pyromaniac to mind.

She put the dishes in the sink. "So Danny, did Stephanie talk to you?"

"Talk to me about what?" He asked.

"About going to research the pyromaniac who killed my parents and tried to kill and me. With Jason and Sam coming too of course, so I'd be safer."

He sighed and faced her, his arms folded. "Yes, she did. We discussed it and our answer is no."

"What? Why?" Her eyebrow shot up and her head tilted in confusion. "I would have Jason and Sam with me so I'd be safe."

"If they go with you, they're in danger too."

"Can't one of you come with us then?"

"No. We've got a lot to do."

"It's summer vacation! I know you and Stephanie have work, but it's only part time and you guys have it on different days! And I know that school's coming up soon, so that's why I want to find that guy as soon as possible!"

"Even so, our answer is no." He said calmly as he put the dishes in the rack.

"Well I certainly don't see any reason to say that!" She said. "This isn't fair!"

"Complaining about it isn't going to help. Get the rest of the cups."

She scowled, snatched up the cups, and threw them in the sink with a loud CRASH!

Danny turned around and gave her a firm glare. "Watch the attitude, young lady!"

"Fine." She muttered, grabbing the kitchen spray and wiping off the table. "Sorry."

"Thank you."

She was still very upset with both him and his wife for not letting her try and find the pyro, and she only apologized so she would have a better chance with her next tactic. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her head close. "Please can I go research? Pleeeeease?"

He gently pried her off and continued with the dishes. "You know that doesn't work on me most of the time, and when it does it's with Billy or Charlie. Our answer is no and that's final."

Mandy glared at him and put one hand on her hip. "I deserve to know!" She snapped. "And wouldn't it help to find out who the guy is so I would have less chance of being killed AGAIN? At least tell me WHY I can't!"

"Because I said so! And we'll be protecting you so you don't have to worry about being unsafe! Now go find something else to do! I don't want to hear another word about this, am I clear?"

"Fine!" She muttered, then darted upstairs as fast as she could, slamming her door harshly and locking it. She took some deep breaths, trying to calm herself and restrain from throwing a tantrum like a little kid, no matter how much she really wanted to. No, she was better than that. Instead she grabbed her blanket and several pillows and laid down on the sill of her giant window, trying to get herself under control. Although a few tears did escape, and perhaps a kick against the window. She had no idea how long she was there, but after a while someone knocked on the door and rattled the knob.

"Are you okay?" A muffled voice asked.

She got up and opened the door, yawning. "What?"

Justin shrugged. "I heard you and Danny fighting. Just wondered if you were okay." He said.

Mandy blinked at him, surprised. "I never expected to find you at my door!" She bluntly remarked. "I'm fine though...Danny's just being annoying cause he won't let me figure out who the guy is who tried to kill me for some reason."

Justin winced. "Wow. That is really dumb, unless he's got a good reason for it. I've had my share of Danny and Stephanie being unfair, so...I know how you feel." He said.

She smiled slightly. "Thanks Justin. You know, you're actually becoming nicer. It's slow, but it's happening."

He rolled his eyes and walked off with fake annoyance, not realizing that she was smirking in amusement.

Just as Mandy was about to go and get some water, she bumped into Jason in the hallway.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, concern etched across his face.

She sighed and walked with him as he put his arm around her. "Not really."

"Here, let's talk in my room."

"Okay."

His room had wallpaper instead of paint, and the paper was a large map of the world. He had a small window on the left and right walls with white curtains, a hardwood floor, a simple bed right across from the door with a lighter wood than the floor. It had simple white sheets and a plain solid red bedspread. On the right wall was a lightwood dresser. Just under the window on the left wall, there was a light wood desk with a cabinet on the right and a set of three drawers on the left. It also had one long, thin sliding drawer at the top and a leather rolling chair. On top of the desk was a stack of books at the top left hand corner. From what she could tell they were just reading books with a journal on top. At the top right hand corner, there was a black desk lamp, and next to it was a steel cup filled with pencils, pens, and erasers. In the middle of a desk was an iPod next to his phone, and finally, at the very top of it between the books and lamp was a framed picture of the whole Evans House family, including Mandy. They'd taken the picture on her second day and had also gotten a copy of it for the pictures in the hallway.

"I keep forgetting how awesome this room is." She said, admiring it in awe. "You must really love geography!"

He sat on his bed with a shrug. "A little bit. I like exploring and going to other places. And it just looks really cool in here." He saw she was still by the shut door. "Don't just stand there all day, sit!"

She took the chair and scooted it close to the bed.

"So what happened? I heard you fighting with Danny. Everyone heard."

"I was just asking him about whether he and Stephanie were going to let me go and research the pyro who burned down my house and who tried to kill me. And you and Sam were going to have to come along so I'd be safer. And guess what he said? No! He said no! I know he is worried about me, but I would have had you and Sam with me! I asked him why not, and it was because he and Stephanie said so. Ugh!" Mandy grumbled, crossing her arms.

Jason grimaced. "Ooh, I hate it when they say that!"

"It's not fair! He has no reason or right to not let me go!"

"The reasons other than to keep you safe? I've got no idea. Although he does have the right, he is your legal guardian."

"So what? This isn't some huge deal we're talking about, we were just going to go to the library. And besides, he is _not. my. dad_."

"Whoa, easy." He warned, seeing her starting to get angrier.

"Whatever."

"I'm sorry about this, but there's really nothing I can do."

She scowled at first, then smirked mischievously. "Oh yes there is! I'm leaving tonight to go find out who that guy was anyway. I don't care what Danny says. He isn't my dad."

Jason frowned. "Mandy, that's pretty dangerous you know. And dumb."

"Well dumb or otherwise, I'm going whether you like it or not. Either you can come with me or cover for me." Mandy replied stubbornly.

He shook his head. "No. We'd get in big trouble, really. I don't want that, so sorry. Not this time."

Her face crumpled, as if she was about to cry. "Jason! How could you! I surely thought at least you would help me somehow!"

Jason immediately softened as she looked up at him with her big brown eyes and quivering lip.

"Please? Please?" She begged, going over and sitting on his lap and then starting to cry.

He sighed and smiled. "Darn that adorable face. Alright, alright, I'll help you. Just stop with tears, okay Lynn?"

The girl beamed and wrapped her arms around him. "Yay! Thank you! You're the best adopted big brother ever!"

Her 'brother' stared at her, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. "You weren't even crying! What are you, five?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "The trick works on Emily. I guess it works on you too!"

"Tricking me, huh?" He asked, grinning as he started tickling her.

Mandy shrieked and scrambled off his lap, darting out the room and giggling.

Jason couldn't help but laugh.

She poked her head in a moment later. "Meet me in my room two and a half hours before curfew. We'll make a plan and then sneak out."

"Alright brat." He teased.

"Thanks idiot."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, everyone met in Mandy's room.

"Did you make your beds look like your sleeping in them?" Mandy asked. "And did you make the signs and lock your doors?"

Sam nodded, and then held up the signs. Two said 'Gone to bed early, do not disturb' the third said, 'Want to be alone and going to bed. Do not disturb.'

"Jason, you got the money?"

"Yeah, it works out perfectly since we split our allowances. If we leave now we should be able to catch the next bus."

"And we've all got our watches. Okay, so we sneak out the back door and run to the bus stop and go to the library. Do our research, and try and be back before curfew and not get caught."

"Right!"

"Come on! And don't make a sound!"

Quiet as a mice, the three put the signs on their doors and Mandy locked hers behind them. She was thankful it was the lock that could be easily opened so when they got back it wouldn't be hard getting into their rooms. After the signs were in place and their bedroom doors locked, they crept downstairs and out the back door, thankful everyone was upstairs in their rooms at the moment. Just as they were halfway to the main road and they couldn't be seen, Jason stopped.

"What's wrong?" Mandy asked.

"Sam, did you lock the back door?"

"Oh crap!"

"Go lock it!"

Sam darted back and quickly locked the door and returned. "Sorry!"

They waited for the cars to pass, each of them filled with a wild exhilaration. As soon as the traffic cleared, they ran across the street and made it to the bus stop. After a few minutes, it arrived. Mandy couldn't keep the smile off her face as they rode to the library.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!"

Sam smirked. "I know! Me either! I never thought you'd do something like this, since you seemed like the normally well-behaved type, save for being sassy sometimes."

"Oh whatever!"

Soon, they made it to the library. Jason checked the written records while the girls checked online.

"Do you know his name?" Sam asked.

"Nope. Let's search my mom's last name."

"Check ancestry.com! I have an account."

"Why?"

"Because I got bored!"

"Okay, okay, so my Mom's last name was Reynolds, before she took Hendricks, my dad's last name. Search for Anastasia Carolynn Reynolds."

After some searching, they finally found records for her mother's history before she got married.

"Okay, here's when she was engaged to my dad...hmm...where's her previous one?"

"Scroll down a little."

"Here it is!"

Just at that moment, Jason ran over with a big red book. "Guys, I found it!"

"So did we!"

She clicked on the link. "It says here that before my dad, my mom was engaged to a guy named Gabriel. Gabriel...Evans." She gulped nervously. "Surely...he can't be related to Danny...right?"

Sam took over and searched his name, looking through his history. "Here's Brandon Evans. He's Gabriel's grandfather. Richard Evans, his father. Here's Gabriel, and...next to him is...Daniel Evans."

Jason frowned. "No, this can't be true. We probably have the wrong Evans family, right?"

"Nope. This is the one." Sam said.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, there are pictures." She sighed. From each name if you clicked on the leaf you'd see a picture of the person if it was available. "There's Danny. Mandy, is this the guy who attacked you?"

"Yes..."

The three just stared at the screen in shock.

Mandy stood up, fists clenched and tears swimming in her eyes. "The reason Danny didn't want me to know is because...his brother...his brother is the person who killed my parents. And now he's after me!"

The other two both wrapped her in a large hug and headed to the stacks of the library so she could get her emotions under control, and quite frankly, so they could do the same. Once they'd managed to stop being upset for the time being, and Mandy's tears had stopped, they decided it was time to head back.

Jason checked his watch and gasped. "Oh man! We have to go. NOW. We've only got forty five minutes until curfew!"

"Forty five? Dude, that's enough time." Sam said as they walked out of the library.

"Not if we don't catch the bus! Run!"

They grabbed each other's hands and ran as fast as they could, thankfully managing to just barely catch it. As they rode back home, everyone was awfully quiet for a while until Sam spoke up.

"How much time do we have now?"

"Thirty seven minutes. We should have about half an hour once we get back." Jason said.

Mandy sighed. "The question is, how? All of our bedrooms are on the second floor, and we all locked our doors! If we sneak in the back door, they're bound to see us and know we've been up to something! How could I not think of this?" She kicked the empty seat in front of her. "I'm so stupid!"

"Oh shut up. I convinced Justin to help too. He's got the ladder out there and our windows unlocked and open for us." Jason explained.

"Won't they wonder what the ladder is doing there?"

"He's going to put it away of course. If he get's caught he'll just say some bird's nest blew from one of the trees and got caught in the window."

"You sure that'll work?"

"I hope so. Come on! We're here!"

Sneaking into the backyard, they met Justin there with the ladder. Jason and Sam quickly got into their rooms and Mandy went last. Before going up she gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks so much. And since you helped, if you want to know, I'll tell you what we found out tonight. It'll surprise you. Not now though. Gotta go! And try not to get caught!"

He gave her a sharp nod, not noticing that the corners of his mouth accidentally had gone up. As soon as she'd gotten into her room he grabbed the ladder and carried it into the shed where it belonged. Unfortunately for him, since it was so dark, he bumped into something and there was a loud CRASH! A moment later, the back door opened and shut.

"Hello? Is someone out there?" Danny called, walking around with a flashlight.

Justin froze.

Danny walked around, shining his light on the shed for a moment, then returned and went back inside.

Justin finally breathed with relief and after waiting a bit longer he finally managed to get back inside and up to his room.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Every night, Danny and Stephanie would all hug the kids and say goodnight before they actually went to bed. Everyone was in bed by now, and the two youngest were already asleep. Sam and Jason were both said goodnight too, even though they'd already gone to bed early which was a little strange but not so much that they were suspicious. Everything seemed fine until they went into Mandy's room, and since she'd apparently gone to bed early as well they figured she was mad at them for not letting her go and research.

Danny sat at the side of her bed, Stephanie standing next to him. "Goodnight Mandy." He said, giving her as best a hug as he could though she was still laying down. His wife did the same, but also kissing her on her forehead.

Mandy merely wiped the kiss off and turned away from them. "Goodnight." She snapped.

"Is there a problem?" He asked in concern, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No!"

Stephanie scoffed. "Clearly there is. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop using that tone with us."

"Okay. I'll stop. And yes, there's a problem but I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you sure?" Danny asked.

"I'm sure!" Mandy sighed irritably.

He frowned. "Okay...well...goodnight."

"Goodnight!"

As soon as they were gone Mandy burst into silent tears.

The two went back to their bedroom, a bit hurt but mostly confused.

"Do you think she's still mad at us for not letting her go research?" Stephanie asked worriedly.

"Most likely. If she ever found out...who knows what she'd do. It would probably be pretty bad, but thankfully she stayed here."

"Well, even if it means she'll be mad at us for a while, I can live with that."

"Yeah, whatever keeps her safe." Danny assured her, holding her close.

Stephanie nodded and leaned into the warmth of her husband's arms.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriel sat in a leather recliner with his laptop. He was just browsing various sites when a notification popped up. He clicked it and found that someone had been in his records, which he thought he'd erased every one of them.

"Apparently I forgot Ancestry.com." He muttered. "Someone's looking for me." He traced the computers location to the town library and chuckled.  "Amanda, Amanda, Amanda. You little sneak. Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Once I've got you, you won't need to investigate any longer. Once I've got you, you won't have to worry about anything...anything at all..."


	13. I Deserve to Know the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandy finally finds out the complete story about Gabriel.

Mandy was about to go downstairs for breakfast the next morning with a scowl on her face when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She shrieked and found it was Sam.

"What's the big idea? Trying to scare me?" She asked, scowling harder.

"No! You can't go downstairs with that look on your face!" Sam hissed.

"Why not?"

"Because Danny will get suspicious and start asking questions!"

Mandy folded her arms. "So what? I've got every right to be upset, and so do you! You afraid of being spanked for sneaking out? I'm not, because I deserved to know the truth and I don't care what happens to me. And I might tell him anyway, because there's probably more I need and deserve to know!"

"I'm not afraid of it, I just don't want it to happen! And IF he finds out, we ALL get the blame when it was all your idea in the first place!" Sam snapped. "I don't want to get punished for something that was your fault and not mine!"

"Hey! You AGREED to help! So if you get in trouble, it's partly your fault for helping me in the first place!"

"Oh shut up!"

"You shut up!"

The door suddenly opened, making the girls jump. Much to their relief, it was just Jason.

"Keep it down!" He said irritably. "I swear, if you two keep on arguing like that, the whole entire house is going to hear you!"

"Well excuse me!" Sam said sarcastically. "I just don't want little miss loudmouth to go blabbing to Danny and getting us all in trouble!"

"What? You were going to tell him? What's the matter with you?" Jason groaned.

"Tell me what?"

They turned to the door, not realizing someone had walked up. As soon as they saw who it was, their faces went a bit pale. Danny stood in the doorway with his arms folded and a disapproving glare on his face.

Mandy grinned sheepishly. "Oh...um...nothing! We were just...planning a...party for you! Isn't that right guys?" She asked, though she wanted to know the entire story from Danny and spare Jason and Sam from getting in trouble, so she half heartedly lied.

"Uh....yeah!" Jason agreed.

"Totally!" Sam said.

Danny's raised an eyebrow and looked at them suspiciously. "Right. That seems like a _perfect_ reason for why you were upset about Mandy going to tell me something. Now explain to me why she was so upset with me and Stephanie last night and why you all went to bed early when none of you ever do unless you've got school or extra chores. I want an explanation, now."

"We just had a fight last night sir...." Sam said quietly, her eyes on the ground.

"Did you? And just what was this fight about? Jason?"

Jason gulped. "Um...just over what to watch on TV. We argued about what to watch and then went to name calling and bringing up past offenses and then we all just stormed off to our rooms."

Danny shook his head and stared them down with a glare that said they were in a world of trouble. "Actually, last night you two were watching TV without any problems and Mandy was up in her room reading. You lied to me. And you know how I feel about that."

"Yes sir...." Jason and Sam said humbly.

"Tell me what happened, and I want the truth."

Sam sighed in defeat and was about to speak, when Mandy looked at her and shook her head.

Mandy put her hands on her hips and spoke bluntly, but respectfully as she told the story of what had happened. "Jason and Sam snuck out with me last night to go research who killed my parents and tried to kill me. We went to the library by taking the bus, found out who it was, came back and when we did Justin helped us sneak back into our rooms through our bedroom windows. We used the ladder from the shed by the way." She explained. "Although we made it back before curfew and went to bed on time." She added.

" _AMANDA HENDRICKS!_   I _SPECIFICALLY_   TOLD YOU THAT YOU _COULDN'T_   GO YESTERDAY AND THEN YOU _DILIBERATELY_   DISOBEY ME AND LIE TO ME!" Danny shouted.

Mandy merely rolled her eyes and shouted right back at him. "I HAVE A _RIGHT_   TO KNOW WHO KILLED MY PARENTS AND WHO'S AFTER _ME_! I _DESERVE_   TO KNOW THE TRUTH! WOULDN'T IT _HELP_   IF WE _REPORT_ HIM TO THE AUTHORITIES SINCE WE KNOW WHO HE IS? THEN I'D HAVE _LESS_   OF A CHANCE OF GETTING _KILLED_   AND PUTTING _EVERYONE_   HERE AT _RISK!_ OR DID YOU MAKE SOME KIND OF _DEAL_ WITH. YOUR. _BROTHER?"_

Sam gasped and Jason's jaw dropped. They both stared at Mandy in shock. No one hardly ever responded to Danny that way.

Danny's eyes went wide with shock before being squeezed shut "HOW DARE YOU!THAT'S IT! GET TO MY ROOM THIS INSTANT! AND I'LL DEAL WITH THE TWO OF YOU LATER!"

Mandy stomped out of the room with an annoyed huff, with Danny following behind her. Jason sighed and sat on the bed. Sam sat next to him and smiled slightly as he put his arm around her.

"It'll be alright." He said, though who he was trying to reassure, Sam or himself, was up for debate.

She reached her hand up and held the one around her for a moment as she looked up at him. "I hope so." She said, letting go of his hand with a sigh.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mandy sat on the bed in Danny's bedroom, arms crossed, the expression on her face both angry and hurt, and hot tears of anger already streaming down her face. A moment later, Danny came in and slammed the door behind him.

"You are in a HEAP of trouble young lady. You are going to get the spanking of your LIFE."

She glared at him defiantly. "I don't see what the big deal is! Okay, so I lied that it was nothing and didn't tell you what was bothering me, and I snuck out without letting you know. Sure, I deserve some kind of punishment for what I did but I DO NOT deserve to be spanked! I DESERVED to know what I found out and DESERVE whatever other information there is about this!"

"When my wife or I tell you to do something, that means you DO IT! So you're right in one aspect, you do deserve to be punished! Punished over my knee!"

"NO!"

"EXCUSE ME?!?!"

"YOU WILL NOT SPANK ME!""

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT I WILL AND WILL NOT DO!"

Mandy stood up, more tears streaming down her face. "YOU WILL NOT SPANK ME BECAUSE YOU ARE WAY TOO ANGRY RIGHT NOW AND I KNOW IF YOU DID YOU WOULD PROBABLY HURT ME! NOT ON PURPOSE BUT YOU GET MY POINT! AND SINCE I DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH I DON'T THINK I DESERVE THAT KIND OF PUNISHMENT ANYWAY!

Danny threw his arms in the air and paced around the room. "That tone you're using with me right now? It's _not_   helping your case young lady!"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Young lady? _Oh shut up!_ Just who do you think you are? My _father?_ Well, NEWSFLASH! You're _not_ my father and you _never_ will be!"

Stephanie suddenly burst into the bedroom. "ENOUGH!"

Danny and Mandy just stared at her.

She folded her arms. " _Everyone_ can hear _everything_ downstairs and I'm sure anyone within five miles could too! I had to send Billy and Charlie down to the lake with Justin!" She explained. "Danny, you need to go calm down."

"She's still getting punished." He muttered.

She nodded. "Yes, she is. I'll be the one taking care of that though. Talking about this issue with your brother, or your brother in general makes you angry and since she's broken the rules that's made you even angrier. You need to go cool down, I'll deal with her. Now just to be sure, what did she do?"

Danny sighed. "She lied about nothing being wrong last night, snuck out of the house to go research without us knowing, snuck back in, lied again about what she was arguing about with Sam and Jason this morning, and since then has been talking to me in a very, very, disrespectful way." He said. "I'm going for a walk.

"You do that." Stephanie said, before she turned to Mandy. "You're grounded."

"Ugh."

"You're grounded for a month with extra chores and no TV."

"Oh come on."

"Come on nothing! You lied and snuck out, deliberately disobeying what Danny said."

"I had a right to know though!"

"You did, you did." Stephanie agreed. "Except if you had come to me or him to talk to us calmly and rationally, maybe something could have been arranged."

"Yeah, right. Maybe with you but not with him." Mandy grumbled.

The woman sighed. "Even so! That would have been a better thing to do and it may have helped your case! I could have talked to Danny to calm him down, and then we would have told you anything you wanted to know!"

"That's _so_ believable."

"And in addition to getting grounded for a month from TV and having extra chores, you're also getting that smart mouth of yours cleaned out!"

Before Mandy could say another sassy, disrespectful, thing she found herself in their bathroom standing in front of the sink. Stephanie opened the mirrored cabinet and pulled out a bar of soap that was in a box. Mandy grimaced as she watched her lather up the soap, and was slightly thankful the bathroom had it's own liquid soap and that the soap in her mouth wasn't the same kind.

"Alright, open up." Stephanie ordered.

Mandy reluctantly unhinged her jaw and gagged as soon as the soap entered her mouth.

"You _did_   have a right to know about Gabriel, Danny's brother." Stephanie said. "But you _didn't_ have _any_ right at all to talk to my husband that way!" She scolded. "There is no excuse for that kind of behavior! I'm very disappointed in you! You should be spanked for this you know, and you're lucky you aren't! The only reason I'm not spanking you right now, is because you deserved to know about Gabriel, and Danny didn't give you a good reason not to go research him."

Now the anger and defiant, defensive attitude finally drained away. Now all she was left with was guilt. Sure, Mandy could be very stubborn a lot of the times but she always broke down in the end with regret and sadness. She gagged as the awful stuff still invaded her mouth, wishing Stephanie wasn't so thorough, but was slightly thankful that she was doing it gentle so it didn't hurt but it really got her mouth clean.

"If Danny or I ever hear this kind of talk from you again, you know this is what will happen, right?"

Mandy nodded.

Finally, _finally_ , after what seemed like forever even though it was only a minute or two, the soap bar was removed. Mandy spit out the soap and rinsed her mouth frantically and repeatedly. When she finished, she stood and looked at Stephanie with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered.

Stephanie hugged her. "I forgive you, but it's not really me you need to apologize to, is it?"

Mandy shook her head, then glanced up at the sound of the bedroom door opening and closing.

"I'm back." Danny said.

After a bit of prompting, Mandy finally came out of the bathroom with Stephanie and slowly approached him.

"Mandy, I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"Yes I do. I lost my temper and I was out of control with you, and I'm sorry."

She nodded. "And..." She bit her lip as more tears flooded her eyes. She could barely speak. "I'm so sorry Danny!" Mandy cried as he went over and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry for disobeying, for talking rudely, and for lying and for everything!"

"I forgive you sweetheart. Let's just not repeat this again, alright?"

"Y-yes sir." She sniffled. Then slowly, she started to relax as he whispered soothing words to her and rubbed her back.

"You're okay now, and you learned your lesson. That's the important thing. All is forgiven, there's no need for tears no more darling." Danny assured her, hugging the girl as much as he could. "Just take some deep breaths and calm down."

"W-why didn't you want me to know it was your brother?" Mandy asked tearfully.

He sighed. "Well, I didn't want you to hate me for one. Two, I knew that if you found out who he was, you'd go looking for him. And if you went looking for him you'd put yourself and everyone else in more danger than they already were. Three, I was worried about you. I didn't want you getting hurt again. When I found out you were inside that burning room I was more scared than I had ever been, and I couldn't stand the thought of losing you. I'll tell you more later, alright?"

She looked up at him and kissed his cheek before hiding her face. "Okay. And I know you care about me...I care about you too."

He pulled her from his shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. "I don't just care about you. I love you."

Mandy looked as if she was about to cry again. She'd last heard those words from her parents, and up until now Danny and Stephanie had only said they'd cared. Even though the words stung a little bit, they mostly were the best words she could ever hear.

"Please don't-"

"Happy tears. Happy tears. I love you too."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A short while later, the three teens met Mandy's room to further cuddling and to talk. Apparently, just before going into the bedroom Danny had went and talked to Sam and Jason, who were also grounded.

Jason was fine by now, though Sam was still a little sulky and pouty. The cuddling had helped but she needed cheering up. They all did to be honest.

"This is the first and last time we ever help you with a crazy plan." Sam muttered as they all sat on Mandy's big window sill and watched the gloomy rain pour.

"Sorry I got you into trouble guys. I should have just gone by myself." Mandy sighed.

Jason shrugged. "No, it's okay. I would have gone with you whether you wanted me to or not."

"Aw, you're sweet." She sat next to him and hugged him.

"You were always obnoxious that way, going whether wanted or not." Sam remarked.

"Come on you, get in here." Mandy ordered. "Join the hug force."

Sam shook her head.

"Please Sammy? You know you want too!" Jason teased in a sing-song voice.

When she didn't move, they shuffled over to her and hugged her anyway.

"We're cool right?" Mandy eventually asked.

"Totally."

After a few minutes of hugging, they agreed to go downstairs and start the day.

"Let's not fight over anything." Sam warned as she headed for the door. "Even though we made the previous fight up, let's not do it anyway."

"No kidding." Jason chuckled. "And who's in the mood for some breakfast while we're at it? After all, I'm starving!"

Mandy laughed. "When are you not starving? You're such a pig." She teased.

He grinned and started tickling her. "Who you calling a pig? Who you calling a pig, huh?" He asked.

"Eeek! Jason! Don't tickle meeee! Hahaha!"

"You two are SO weird."

"Sam, you shouldn't have said that! Ha! Now he's after you!"

"Oh no! Nooooo! Retreeeeeat!"

They joked and laughed as they went downstairs, not realizing that Justin had come out of his room, having come back from the lake with Billy and Charlie been waiting for the conflict to end. After all the walls weren't exactly sound proof, and the last thing he wanted to hear was an argument. He was about to try and talk to Mandy, ask her if she was okay and offer to help research more about Danny's brother if he could and help her figure out what to do next, but she was already going downstairs. He reached out, about to get her attention. He reached out for her hand, which was at the top of the railing. Just as he was about to touch it, her hand slipped away downstairs with her.

He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Meanwhile downstairs, Jason was currently trying to pry off the two six year olds off his legs.

"Billy, Charlie, let go!" Sam giggled.

"Aaaaah! It's the attack of the munchkins!" Jason said, pretending to sound terrified.

Justin watched them for a moment before finally heading down for breakfast, particularly a little moodier than usual.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a few days since Mandy had seen a different side of Justin, and as she did the breakfast dishes she found herself not only dwelling on it but wanting to see it again. He'd seemed shy as he'd always been, friendlier, and a little bit happier than his usual self. The aspect of his happiness, or rather lack of it, always puzzled her. She desperately wanted to find out, to break him out of his shell. She knew a little bit, how his father was abusive and liked to burn him to punish him, but she knew there was more to his story.

Instead of prying though, she harbored herself instead and kept her thoughts secret. And not only was she thinking about Justin, but also about Gabriel, the man who'd tried to kill her and who was also Danny's brother. She grew frustrated, both with her worry over Justin and her anger towards Gabriel. Too consumed by her own thoughts, she didn't realize how vigorously she was scrubbing the plate. Suddenly, she felt two strong arms hug her from behind and a calm voice tell her to slow down.

Expecting to see Danny or Stephanie, she looked up only to see Jason instead. "Hi Lynn."

"Hi Jason." She yawned, smiling at the nickname. "Sorry, I didn't realize how fast I was going."

"Are you alright? You've been a bit quieter over the past few days, and very clingy to me I might add, though you usually are and I don't mind one bit." He said, kissing her cheek as she dried off her hands and left the pot to soak.

She turned to him and sighed as she clung on to him. "I'm just worried about Justin, and angry at Danny's brother."

Jason stroked her hair gently. "I know. I'm angry at his brother too, and as far as Justin goes, I'm also worried but no matter what I've tried over the years he keeps pushing me away."

"That's sad."

"Yeah it is. The good thing though, is that you came along."

She looked up at him, her smile matching his. "Really?"

"Oh yeah! Since you've been here he's smiled a lot more, been a lot more quiet about his complaints, and more cooperative. I don't know how you've done it, but you've made a difference."

Mandy beamed.

"I'm proud of you Lynn." Jason said honestly.

She giggled bashfully and buried her face into his chest.

"Goofball." He muttered.

She giggled again, muffled by his shirt.

He chuckled and was about to ask if she wanted to play Candy Land with him, Charlie, and Billy, when Danny called her from upstairs.

"Wish me luck." She joked.

"Good luck, brat." He smirked, gently tugging at her hair.

Rolling her eyes playfully she left and went upstairs to see what Danny wanted.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mandy knocked and cautiously entered the room. "Am I in trouble?" She asked nervously.

Danny, who was sitting at his desk chair, smiled a bit. "No, you're not. Just come here. Sit."

She sat on the bed in front of Stephanie who was leaning back against the headboard and watching a movie on her laptop.

"So what's this about?"

He ran his fingers through his ginger hair. "Well, I take it you're wondering why my brother killed your parents."

"Uh, yeah."

"First I want to thank you for not being upset with me, because I was only trying to protect you. And second, I needed to take the past two days to get the story organized and get myself ready to tell you."

"Right, so what did you want to tell me about Gabriel?"

"Back when he and I were in college, your mother was there."

"WHAT!"

"Yeah, I went to college with your mother. My brother and I were absolutely smitten with her and were always fighting over her."

"I thought you were dating Stephanie in college."

"I was, but for a year we'd broken up and during that year I fell in love with your mother, Anastasia."

"Oh."

"She loved us both but could never choose one of us, so we dated her at the same time. I know, it sounds odd but it we were both trying to win her affection. After a while, she broke up with me. Our relationship ended on good terms though, because we thought of each other as friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. So once she broke up with me, I got back together with Stephanie, and she was left with Gabriel, and I had never seen him so happy. Anastasia did love him, but that didn't last for too long. The thing is, Gabriel was a lot more in love with your mother than I was. He was obsessed, to be honest. Pictures of the two of them above his bed, love notes from her in his drawers, he knew almost everything about her and was determined to make himself the perfect man for her. Although, his fascination with fire and dangerous dares and stunts frightened her."

Mandy smiled slightly. "Sounds like Mom alright, always so careful."

"Everything was fine at first between them, and they both seemed happy for a little while. Until Anastasia started to get scared of him. As you know, your mother was one of the sweetest people on the planet, and Gabriel took advantage of that. She went from being his girlfriend to his doormat very quickly. He a lot of the time he was making her do dangerous stunts like riding on the back of his motorcycle while he rode on the edge of a top of a building with him, among other things. He thought her idea of fun was boring most of the time, so he'd force her to do what he wanted to do. She never liked to do those dangerous things of course, but she didn't want to make him angry."

"Oh no...I have an idea of where this is going." Mandy groaned, putting her face in her hands.

By now, Stephanie had stopped watching her movie to listen. Then she scooted over to Mandy and put an arm around her.

Danny nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so." He sighed. "My brother and I, we have some anger issues like a lot of people do, but he'd always go overboard. Often times Anastasia would run to me or one of her girlfriends in tears because he'd been shouting at her, for not doing what he said or making him angry for some reason. She tried to break up with him during her last year, and when she did he became secretly abusive. He would take her out on dates, or off campus for supplies or something, and that's when he'd hit her and try to force her to stay with him."

"WHAT!?!? THAT ******* HURT MY MOTHER AND KILLED HER! I'M GOING TO FIND HIM AND GIVE HIM HELL!" Mandy screamed, unable to keep her anger in any longer.

Stephanie held her hand. "Language." She admonished. "And don't worry honey, we'll be sure he gets what he deserves.

Danny nodded. "That's right, we will. Just take a few breaths and calm down." He said, though Mandy could tell he was visibly trying to control his anger as well. He took a deep breath before continuing. "Gabriel is a little autistic, so he did get pretty wild sometimes and some things didn't make sense, like why Anastasia wanted to break up with him.

It's gotten a lot better over the years, his control over the slight autism. Finally, I reported him to the campus authorities and he had to get counseling, and Anastasia broke up with him. Even though she didn't want me to report him and even though I didn't want to either, I still did for our safety. No matter how terrible he was, I still loved him, and deep down I still do.

"I have no idea how long he's been following your family, but I think it's probably been a while. The more he saw your mother with your dad in college, the worse he got. He'd try and control his anger, only to then release it out in a violent way on some object. That's how he was introduced to fire. He was in a fire once, just after graduating college. He was in his wooden shed in the backyard of his house, trying to get something from there when he accidentally dropped his cigarette and it caught something on fire. Gabriel just stayed there as it burned around him, mesmerized by the flames, at least that's what the medics had said.

"I had been on my way home from work when I noticed the fire not too far away got him out and he wasn't too seriously hurt. Ever since he'd been so interested in fire and burning things. For a while I was able to keep an eye on him and keep him out of trouble, then one day he vanished without a word. I searched for him for months, until I thought he was dead.

I nearly forgot about him all together because Stephanie and I had started this place and had our own lives to get back to. Then when you came along and the fire that killed your parents wasn't an accident, I knew he'd come back. I wanted to tell the police, but they thought he was dead and they had already reported that any evidence that could have been there after the fire had been cleaned up." He finished.

Mandy took a deep breath. "Wow...this is....a lot to take in." She admitted, her eyes teary. "Why didn't you tell me you knew my mother earlier?"

"I didn't want to upset you by bringing her up, because you had just arrived at the time and until now I wanted to make sure you were safe and having fun. And I tried not to think about it too much, because it's not something I want to think about."

She lowered her head, her breath becoming shaky.

Danny clicked his tongue. "Come here darling."

Mandy stood, crying harshly now. She tried to move forward, only to fall to her hands and knees in front of him. Stephanie was instantly beside her, and soon Danny was too.

"Everything's going to be okay." He whispered. "I promise."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin jumped back as the door nearly slammed into his face when it opened.

Mandy found him. "Justin! Were you eavesdropping?"

"I was just going to ask Danny something." He said.

"Yeah right! What business do you have listening in?" She asked angrily.

He shrugged, only having his jacket draped and unzipped on his shoulders and hood up. "Look, I really did want to ask Danny something, okay? Earlier I'd heard you crying, so I went back to my room. I just came back to see if you were done talking with them."

Mandy nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Are you alright though?" He asked with concern.

"What? You care?" She asked suspiciously.

Justin rolled his eyes. "I saved your life remember? Of course I care."

She thought for a moment and looked into his eyes, finding concern and worry. "Well...not really." She admitted. Mandy didn't know what it was about him that made her feel this way, but she trusted him.

He nodded. "I didn't think so. Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked quickly, stretching to try and hide his nervousness at asking that. While he stretched and leaned his head back as he yawned, only to have his hoodie fall off. The hoodie had been hanging on him rather loosely and it hadn't been zipped up so it had fallen off. Unfortunately for Justin he'd decided to wear a tank top today.

Mandy gasped. His arms were full of scars and past burn marks and bruises. On the back of his neck she caught a glimpse of the scabbing scar. Normally when he worked outside he'd wear a lighter jacket or a very loose long sleeved shirt.

He stared at her like a deer in head lights, his heart beating faster than a hummingbird.

She stared back at him her eyes filling with tears of shock, sadness, and pain. And then, slowly, she reached up, not thinking about what she was doing, she reached up and moved his hair out of his face. She blinked, staring at his entire face. He was still pale, and had freckles on the sides of his eyes. She'd thought he'd had blue eyes, but she was wrong. His left eye that he usually covered up, was green. The right one was blue. And she could see the start of a scar on the side of his neck, something she'd never noticed before. She blushed for some odd reason.

He blushed too, and slowly started backing down the hall before turning around and running into his bedroom and slamming the door.

Mandy ran after him, and knocked on the door. "Justin?"

He didn't say anything.

"You want to know what I was talking about with Danny and Stephanie earlier, and why I was crying right?"

He still didn't say anything.

"Please, let me in. I'll tell you...if you tell me."

She waited for a few minutes before sighing and deciding to go.

Just as she was turning to leave, the door slowly opened and Justin let her in.


	14. Evan's House Q & A

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I ask some questions I think you want to know.

**_Danny:_ **

Do you still love your brother after all he did?

_Yes, I do. Even though it's hard to love him at times, in my heart I still do no matter what he does._

Did you know it was your brother from the start when Mandy's parents were killed in the fire?

_I didn't know exactly. I had my suspicions, but the police verified that all evidence had been cleaned up before they got there was no way of telling who did it. As I said I had my suspicions and it did seem very likely at the time. Though it could have just been set on fire by accident as well, so I wasn't sure what to think._

What do you like most about the place you've started?

_Everything really, because it's my home. If I had to choose, I'd probably say...the neighborhood it's in. All the folk here are real nice and friendly, and we help each other out if needed._

_**Stephanie:** _

What do you think of Gabriel?

_I hate him. He used to be tolerable in college, from what I saw of him then. As the years past he took a turn for the worse as you know, and then he started to hurt Anastasia, who was a friend of mine. I hated him since then and I still do. He's crazy and he needs counseling. I don't want him anywhere near my kids! He's already almost killed Mandy and I do not want anything like that to happen again!_

What do you think about all of this?

_Honestly, I'm terrified. I'm scared for the kids safety. Danny and I had thought that Gabriel was dead, but all this time he was planning his revenge! I think that this entire situation is scary, stupid, and I just wish it was over and everything would be fine._

How do you feel about the kids (and teens)?

_I love them like their my own, and they pretty much are just not by blood. Each of them has something unique about them, and I'm so glad we could give them all a home. I wish I could slow time down so our first baby, Jason, didn't have to go to college so soon! I know it's a year, but that seems a lot shorter to me!_

What is your real job?

_Keeping this place up and running is a real job sweetie! *laughs* I know what you're trying to say though and the answer is baking! I work at my good friend Wendy's Bakery, and it's the most popular one in town! Danny works at the hardware store and does repairs around town in case you were wondering._

What do you like most about the place you and your husband started?

_I'd have to say other than the interior design, which I did myself, the kids and teens. They're my children and I love them with all my heart. Since Danny and I couldn't have kids, and adoption would take too long, this is the next best thing._

**_Jason:_ **

What do you think of Mandy?

_I love her! She's my adopted younger sister after all! I think she's bold, sassy, but very sweet too. Even though she can be a real brat sometimes, I love her._

Did you hear Danny and Mandy yelling at each other? What did you think about it?

_Yes, unfortunately I did. I think everyone else did too. Well I didn't like it, and I was shocked to hear Mandy speak to Danny like that. I'm just glad the issue is resolved, and she'll probably fill me in later about what happened and if not, then that's fine. I respect her privacy._

What do you like most about Evan's House?

_I love the nature area that's so close to it, especially my secret garden._

_**Justin:** _

What is your disability?

_Why should I tell you?!?!? Ugh. You know what? FINE. I'm not going to tell you exactly what it is, but I'll tell you something. It's nothing physical like losing a leg or body part, and it's not mental at all. I'm very self conscious about it and I don't like to discuss it because it brings back memories of my past, and my horrible parents. My disability, or whatever you wanna call it, it's appearance wise. That's all I'm telling you._

Do have a crush on Mandy?

_NO!!! I don't have a crush on her! Where would you get a stupid idea like that? I would never crush on her! Even though she's nicer to me than everyone else...different...and is actually really pretty and-wait! HEY! DANG IT! UGH, LEAVE ME ALONE!_

What do you like most about Evan's House?

_It provides for one's basic needs and more. Plus, it's a million times better than my other home._

_**Mandy:** _

Does Mandy like Jason?

_I like him as a good friend and a brother, yes! He's awesome!_

Do you love Jason?

_Yep! Best big brother ever!_

Do you miss your parents? What do you think they'd think about you staying here?

_Of course I miss my parents! Very, very much. The stuffed fox and necklace, in addition to a couple pictures, is all I have left of them. Um...I think they'd be fine with it. I'm pretty sure they would like this place._

Do you have a crush on Justin?

_Uh...I don't know. Maybe? I...I'm not sure. I think...maybe, maybe I would if he would open up about what happened to him. Anyway, let's not talk about this! Okay? *blushes*_

What do you like most about Evan's House?

_The people here, and the lake! Especially the lake, cause nature is my kryptonite! Hahaha! Really though, I love nature and it's so awesome to have so much of it so close by!_

_**Sam:** _

Do you think Mandy and Justin like each other? If so what do you think about that?

_Mandy and Justin? I'm not completely sure, but it could happen. If it did, I'd be kind of weirded out to be honest because it's...well it's weird! I mean why would she crush on Justin?_

Are you jealous of the closeness of Mandy and Jason?

_A little bit I guess. Jason and I weren't as affectionate as he and she are, and it kind of makes me mad sometimes to see them get along so well. There's not much I can do about it so I guess there's no point in complaining about it._

Are Danny and Stephanie good (adopted) parents?

_Yeah, they're pretty good. Better than my last ones! I wish they'd let me get away with more stuff though, I mean it's really irritating sometimes when I do the tiniest bad thing and I can't get away with it. Oh well. I still love them though and I'm really grateful to be here._

What do you like most about Evan's House?

_The food! Stephanie can really cook!  Also my awesome bedroom!_

_**Billy:** _

Do you like Mandy?

_Yeah! She's really fun! She plays with me and is fair with me and Charlie!_

Do you know Mandy is in danger?

_D-Danger? Uh-oh! Is she okay? What danger? *runs away* Mandy! Are you in danger?_

What do you like most about your home?

_My toys!_

_**Charlie:** _

Do you know Mandy is in danger?

_Danger? No I didn't know that! Mandy! *runs away* Are you okay?_

What do you like most about your home?

_My toys!_

How did you get here?

_Um...Danny said my Mommy and Daddy went to heaven cause we were driving in the car on our way home and CRASH! *sniffles* The car went crunch and so did Mommy and Daddy. I was okay though. Then I screamed and screamed  for help and someone came and the police got me out. Then they put me here. I don't really remember Mommy and Daddy any...anymore. *cries* *runs away to Stephanie*_

_** Emily: ** _

How did you and Mandy meet?

_We met in kindergarten! It was play time and I was just playing with a toy train and blocks when she came up to me and asked if she could play with me. I said yes and then we became best friends! Turns out our parents knew each other, so it worked out great!_

Has she been keeping you up to date with things?

_Yes, yes she has. We tell each other everything, and I mean EVERYTHING._

Why didn't Mandy come to stay with you after the fire instead of going to Evan's House?

_That would have been awesome, but we don't have any room for her in our house. I don't know if my parents would be able to handle it either. I mean we aren't poor or anything, and we're not rich either. It just wouldn't work out. Still though, I'm glad she found a good place to stay._

What do you think about all of this?

_I'm sad, scared, and happy all at once. I'm sad because Mandy's parents are dead and I knew them well, because Mandy got hurt, and because I don't get to see her as often but we text every night and sometimes during the day so it's not so bad. I'm scared because HELLO someone is trying to kill my best friend! A_ _nd not to mention the fact that my family and I were threatened by the same guy!_

_We're okay though and thankfully he's not after us anymore. A_ _nd I'm also happy, because like I said I'm glad Mandy found a good place to stay. Pyromaniac aside, I can tell she's having lots of fun there and that's really good._

Do you have a crush on anyone?

_Other than David Tennant, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Michael Rosenbaum, Tom Welling, Dwayne Johnson, Matt Smith, and Benedict Cumberbatch?  No._

Are you going to help Mandy defeat Gabriel?

_Hahaha, defeat. Sorry, it just sounds strange. I would like to yes, I'll have to ask about what I can do to help._

_**Gabriel:** _

If Gabriel knows where Mandy lives why doesn't he just come to the house and kill her?

_Because after identifying that the death of her stupid parents wasn't an accident, the house is a lot more protected! Idiot. And plus, if I went all the way out there I would be way to easy to catch by the authorities. And I don't know for sure if I'm going to kill her...I might have something else...something possibly worse...planned for her._

What do you want with Mandy? You killed her mom, so what do you want with her?

_And I should answer this question why? You're probably getting ready to bring the police around any minute now. It's none of your business what I want with her, now go back to the ocean, dolphin._

Are you happy now that you've killed Anastasia and her husband?

_Yes. I am extremely happy, and totally satisfied. That witch is gone and so is her stupid husband Steve._


	15. Closed Doors and Open Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out what Justin's disability is, and Mandy is gone.

Mandy walked in cautiously and shut the door behind her. The first thing that caught her attention wasn't Justin, but the room. It wasn't nearly as dark or emo-like as she expected. It had blue gray walls, a solid hardwood floor like most of the house, lots of shelves filled with various things around his bed that had a blue gray bedspread. On the wall opposite the bed, was a desk filled with crumpled papers, notebooks, and other books just for reading. Besides that and a beanbag in the other two corners of the room, there wasn't much in the room save for a window at the end of his bed.

Once she'd averted her eyes from the room itself, they landed on Justin. Sitting there on the bed in all his scarred and damaged glory. He looked up at her with his blue and green eyes, which were misted with tears. She slowly sat next to him, and for a moment neither of them said anything. Mandy stared at him, noticing he'd changed into shorts to be more comfortable. They were just at his knees, but his scars and wounds on his legs probably went up much farther past his shin she figured.

"Should...I go first?" Justin asked quietly, seeming to have regained his composure.

Mandy nodded.

"I guess I'll start with my eyes...one's green and one's blue. There's actually nothing wrong with me as far as that goes, it's just a genetic thing. My grandfather had the same eyes, so I just got it from him. And as far as the rest of me goes, you already know some of the story.  My dad was a drunken gambler who'd just won a ton of money in the beginning. So with a lot of his money, he paid the most expensive prostitute to do it with him. On the second night they were together, he won big again and kept paying her so she'd stay. Eventually, she fell in love with him but it was mostly for his money.

It had been a week and the two of them were rolling in cash. Then, they found out she was pregnant. Of course she was really upset about this and wanted an abortion. Abortions were really expensive, so my dad took all the money and hoped to win the jackpot this time. He lost everything that night, and he and my mom were arguing like crazy. She wanted to leave, but he forced her to stay since he was the father of the baby. For months he tried to gamble what little money they had to get a big win again and he never did for the entire nine months.

My mom kept us alive, having gotten a job at a fast food joint. One time, she tried to abort me herself with a...metal hanger...from...her closet." Justin cleared his throat. "My dad caught her before she did and stopped her, then broke her wrist. Finally, the nine months were up and my mom went into labor. By then, they'd managed to become middle class people money wise, but with my dad's drinking problem that wouldn't last long. My birth took six hours, and my mom was actually happy to have me back then. My dad wasn't very pleased, he thought I was ugly." His eyes misted with tears again. "I know this part of the story not because I remember, but my mom told me one night when she'd gotten drunk and didn't know who she was talking to."

Mandy put her hand on his.

"As I got older, my dad hated me more and more. My two different colored eyes got me made fun of at school and my dad became the laughing stock of his drunk group of friends. I turned into his servant, and he'd cut me, burn me, and or beat me when I didn't do something perfectly or I made him mad. I grew to hate him, just like he hated me. I not only hated him, but I also hated myself. The bullying for my eyes was hard to handle at first, but I got used to it. Then I became the kid everyone bullied for my grades and for my wounds I came in with almost every morning.

And so, I began cutting myself...well what parts of me weren't already cut. Most of my scars and wounds were from my dad, but I gave myself a few too. I considered suicide a few times...and my dad even threatened to kill me a lot when he got mad so I considered just doing it for him and getting it over with. He said I didn't deserve to eat, to breathe, or to live. He blamed me for everything. He said it was because of me that he lost all the money, he said he had to go gamble to try and get money for my abortion and then he lost it all because of me.

That's why I didn't want to eat a while ago, remember that?" He asked, tears streaming down his face.

Mandy nodded.

"I didn't want to because I didn't deserve to, according to my dad. Then, when I was twelve, he dropped me off here. I remember that day so clearly...I don't think I'll ever forget." He sighed. "Danny and Stephanie were chatting out on the front porch when our old white truck drove up and my dad got out. He went to the other side of the car, dragged me out and threw me onto the porch at their feet. My dad yelled at me saying I should be glad he left me in civilization and that I'd be lucky if Danny and Stephanie would even let me inside. He called me a piece of trash, a disgrace to humanity and to him, and then slapped me across the face.

Danny stepped in front of me to defend me, only to have my dad run away and back to the truck, swearing. Thankfully, they did let me in and they talked with me and tried to convince me that I was the opposite of everything my dad just said and always said, and that my disability wasn't a problem at all. I've been here for a year, and things are slowly starting to get better. It's hard not to hate myself though...after so long of feeling that way." He sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes, blushing red with embarrassment. "Its been getting better, but it's not something that goes away immediately and as you can see I still struggle with it."

Mandy, who was still holding his hand, finally spoke. "Wow...I'm...so sorry that happened to you." She said.

Justin finally looked at her for the first time since he'd started his story, and was shocked to find she had tears in her eyes and was blinking them back quickly. He didn't want to speak in fear of breaking down and crying in front of her, so he simply nodded.

"Having different colored eyes isn't really a disability though." She said.

He cleared his throat. "You're right, and what I have isn't really a disability I don't think. What I have is just called disfigurement, see? The scars and wounds on my arms are raised up, and my skin is bumpy. Disfigurement happens from burns, scars, acne, among other things. I had a lot of acne on the back of my neck for some reason, so that's where this weird bumpy scar thing comes from." He explained, turning and showing her. "So it's not really a disability since I can do everything a normal person can, I just have to be a little more careful sometimes because my skin is slightly more sensitive due to the previous damage."

Mandy nodded and removed her hand, embarrassed that it was getting sweaty. "You do know that your dad is gone now, and that he can't hurt you again right?"

"Yes, obviously."

"I know it's only been a year away from him, and that's such a short time compared to all those past years of abuse you got. If I can say this..." She trailed off, looking at him as if to ask his permission.

He nodded.

"I think one of the reasons you're so...angry and miserable is because you're holding a grudge against your parents still, you're still hard on yourself, you expect to be made fun of by everyone here if you show your scars and bumps so that's why you wear long sleeved shirts or hoodies, and you expect Danny and or Stephanie to do something mean to you like your parents did and you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Am I right?"

Justin's eyes went wide. "How...how did you-"

Mandy shrugged. "From what you told me it wasn't that hard to figure out." She said. "And I want you to know that I think your parents are completely wrong, no one here is going to make fun of you, there's no reason to be so hard on yourself, plus Danny and Stephanie aren't ever going to hurt you."

"How do you know no one is going to make fun of me? What makes you think Danny and Stephanie won't?"

"Because they love you Justin, you're their family. As far as Danny and Stephanie go, if any one of them were any type of abusive Jason or Sam would have reported it to the authorities by now. Jason's been here his whole life and he's never been abused once by them, so I know for sure that's not going to happen. Also, you don't need to be so hard on yourself, everyone makes mistakes. If you keep beating yourself up for every little thing, you'll never move forward in life. You'll just be stuck in this pit of sadness and miss out on so many other wonderful things."

He sighed. "You're right...but that won't come easily."

"I know it won't, but I can help you if you'd like." She suggested, offering him a small smile.

"Okay...I guess so." He said hesitantly. "Now it's your turn."

"Alright."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Okay, shoot."

"Why are you so nice to me?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I'm nice to everyone, mostly."

"I know, but it's more than that. The way you looked at me sometimes, and how you respect my privacy and stuff more than everyone else, why?"

Her eyebrows went up ever so slightly. "The way I looked at you? It was mostly curiosity to be honest, and a little bit of pity. I mean, something awful did happen to make you so sad and grumpy all the time, and that's what I had assumed before you told me everything. I've got through a lot of pain too, so I can tell when it's real or someone's just being moody or trying to be an emo just because they want to. You're definitely not one of those, you're too different. I just wondered what happened to you and I felt and feel bad that it did." She explained.

"Oh."

"Not to mention I didn't want to get on your bad side because of what people told me about your temper earlier. Plus I had no reason to be nosy since it's rude, and I wasn't being nosy this time, right?"

"No, you weren't. But...you're...not freaked out?" Justin asked nervously.

"About what?"

"My eyes."

"I was surprised at first but now I know why you cover it up all the time. No though, I'm not freaked out."

He sighed and smiled with relief, one of those rare real smiles. "Good!"

Mandy couldn't help smiling back. "Anything else you wanted to know?"

"Yeah, why are you so different with everyone?" Justin asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You treat Jason like an older brother, Danny and Stephanie like parents, Sam like a best friend, Billy and Charlie like little kid friends, and me like...well I don't know."

"It depends on the person really. I mean sure, most of you feel like family to me since you're pretty much all I have other than some grouchy distant relatives. No one ever said that it was obligated or that people living in a group home usually thought of everyone as family, and we're not really related so I don't see how not seeing someone as a family member would be a problem. I've never thought of you or treated you like family because...just because." She said with a blush.

Justin's eyebrow went up, but he didn't comment on her being red in the face. "Even though you treat Danny and Stephanie like parents, like we all do, you seem to be distant from them. More than the rest of us are at least. Why? I thought since you lost yours you'd be all for them taking their place."

"They could never replace my parents!" She hissed, then took a breath to calm down before continuing. "No one ever will or can. It's still something for me to get used to. I've been here a while now, yeah, but it's still going to take time having them as my authority and parental guardians. Plus, my parents weren't this strict with me so I'm still getting used to all the rules and stuff."

"Oh, no wonder. Well they're actually pretty great, even if they are really tough sometimes. You should spend more time with them and get to know them more."

Mandy shrugged. "I don't know...I've been trying but I wouldn't want anyone else to get jealous when they spend time with just me. And I'm nervous...I don't want to get in trouble again."

Justin smiled. "We'll understand, so don't worry. If not, then I'll fill them in. Billy and Charlie can just stew and be jealous because they'll do that no matter what anyone says." He said. "And don't let the fear of getting in trouble harbor your chances of having a relationship with them, because that's just going to waste your time. I met this guy once, almost became friends and would have if he'd not gone to college.

He told me that he was so relieved to be getting out from under his parents roof because they were really annoying even though he pretty much ignored them or was afraid of getting in trouble for his whole life until then. A while later we met again and he told me how much he regretted his decision of not having a relationship with his parents and doing what he did to them. That showed me how I need to work on my relationship with Danny and Stephanie, and so do you."

She took one look at him and shook her head. "You should SO be the next Dr. Phil. Still though, thanks for the advice...and for telling me."

He smirked. "There's more to me than what meets the eye."

Suddenly, Stephanie called from downstairs.

"JUSTIN! COME DOWN HERE PLEASE!"

"COMING! BE RIGHT THERE!"

Mandy followed him out of his room and downstairs to see what Stephanie wanted.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stephanie was by the door getting her car keys when they came downstairs.

"Justin, I've got to go run some errands. Can you keep the kids occupied while I'm gone?" She asked.

"Sure!" He agreed. "Where's Danny though?"

"He's working on something in our room."

"Okay, see you later!"

Everything was fine for now, since the two kids were watching TV. Then Jason and Sam came downstairs just as she left.

"Hey Mandy!" Sam said, hugging her. "I just talked to Danny and he said that you, Jason and I could all go to the lake!"

"Really? Awesome! Let's go!" Mandy said eagerly, before turning to Justin. "You're fine staying here right?" She asked.

He nodded. "They're easier to handle here." He said, then put his headphones in.

Jason grabbed Mandy's hand and pulled her through the open door. "Come on Lynn!"

She squealed and laughed as they ran together, hand in hand in hand, Sam with them, towards the lake.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

During the commercials of the kid's TV show, Charlie had decided to get up and get her favorite stuffed animal to watch with her. Billy however, beat her to it, stole the animal, and ran downstairs.

"Billy! Give it back!" Charlie demanded, coming downstairs after him.

 He hugged the stuffed tiger possessively. "No!"

She scowled and tried to take it from him, which then caused him to whine very loudly and got them into a tug-of-war.

They pulled as hard as they could, and much to Charlie's surprise, Billy kicked her and stole the stuffed animal. She threw her head back and started crying and stayed that way for about two minutes. It wasn't until Billy started sticking his tongue out and blowing raspberries that she got up and pushed him roughly to the floor. He started crying and started pulling her hair, making her SCREAM at the top of her lungs!

And while all of this was going on, Justin was on his cellphone with his headphones in. He had been told to stay downstairs and watch them while Mandy, Sam, and Jason were at the lake as a reward for doing their chores so well and since they'd ask. Danny was trying to get in contact with his brother and find a way to stop him, while Stephanie was still running errands.

By now, Billy and Charlie were hitting each other and wrestling on the floor SCREAMING. Finally, once the song ended on Justin's phone, he cringed as the screaming and crying pierced his ears. He looked up in shock, seeing the two youngest go at it like they were in a WWE brawling match. He got up and pried them apart.

"Okay, okay, end of round one!" He said sarcastically, barely keeping them apart with an arm each. "What on earth is your problem?"

Charlie scowled, sniffled, and rubbed her head. "Billy stole Tia, my tiger from me! And he knows Tia is mine!"

"Oh so what? She stole O. Connell, my bunny, from me yesterday!" He argued.

"O. Connell? Dont you mean O. Conner?" Justin asked, momentarily distracted.

"No. O. Connell! O is for Oliver!"

Justin shook his head. "Anyway, you two need to _stop_. _Stop_   fighting, _right now_." He sighed. "You know what? Give me that." He snatched the tiger and held it high as the kids began complaining and jumping for it.

 "Justin! Give it back!" They shrieked.

"No! Neither of you are getting this back, or the rabbit for that matter once I find it! Until you make up and learn to share nicely, I'll just keep these guys company." He decided firmly.

"NO FAIR!" And before he could do anything the two six year olds threw themselves on the floor screaming.

"YOU TWO HAD BETTER STOP THIS RIGHT NOW BEFORE I GET DANNY!" He shouted. How Danny hadn't heard any of this or come down yet was beyond him.

Immediately the kids stopped, only to be dragged into separate corners.

"I hate watching you guys!" Justin grumbled. "Every. single. time. I watch you, there's some kind of fight! Now stay there and keep. your. mouths. shut."

Little did he know, Jason, Mandy, and Sam had just walked in. The door shut and he finally noticed, only to roll his eyes and shoved his headphones back in. While the others went upstairs, Mandy stayed.

Justin had just started listening to his favorite song when she tapped his shoulder. "What?" He snapped.

 Her eyebrows shot up. "Easy." She warned.

He rolled his eyes, but complied. Looking back at her he thought....well...he thought she looked nice. She had her hair ironed, she wore a superman t-shirt, dark jeans, red sneakers, and a red cap with a black bill.

 

"I think you could have handled what just happened a little differently." She said,  sitting next to him on the couch and leaning back with a slight yawn.

He shrugged.

"For one, don't yell, just talk in a firm tone. And try keeping one headphone out while you watch them because I'm pretty sure they were fighting or wrestling or something way before you got involved." Mandy suggested.

He nodded, really just wanting to get back to his music, but he knew she was right.

"C-can we come out now?" asked a little voice.

Mandy smiled, "So cute." She whispered.

"Alright fine." Justin said.

The two six year olds ran up to him and hugged his legs. "We're sorry!"

"It's okay. Just try and not do it again." He said dismissively before putting his headphones back in. He wasn't good with kids, and they weren't his favorite kind of people to deal with in general.

Mandy flicked his head and brought the two little ones into her arms for a big hug.

"Its not only Justin you need to say sorry to." She said.

The six year olds exchanged mumbled apologies with each other and the stuffed animal was given back. Things were quiet until one spoke up.

"Come play with us! Please?" Charlie begged, looking up at Mandy with her big brown eyes.

"Oh alright, but only for a little while because I need a shower."

Justin couldn't help watch as Mandy played with the two kids. The way she quickly avoided quarrels and fights, changed the game in a flash when it got boring, made Billy and Charlie laugh their little heads off, well, the way she did things...made him smile. A short while later, the kids got hungry and went to get a snack once Stephanie got back. 

Mandy went upstairs for her shower while Justin went to his room. He sat on his bed, unsure what to do. He felt funny. In fact, one could even say he felt a little bad about the harsh way he'd dealt with the kids. That was weird, because he usually didn't feel like this when the situation occurred. What was different from the last few times?

Oh, right. Mandy. What was it about Mandy that made him feel so strangely? Could it be her long, perfect raven colored hair? Or her kind, deep brown eyes? Her infectious laugh? Her cute smile? Her go with the flow attitude? Her sass? Her occasional troublemaking? How she trusted him, listened to him, and their conversation they'd had earlier? He ran his hand over his face. What on earth was he thinking? Was he...was he...attracted to her?

He sighed. It could never happen. She was happy a lot of the time, and didn't like how he was so negative all the time. She was gentle, he was rough. She was nice, he was mean. How could she ever love, much less like, someone like him? What even caused this weird attraction? Maybe it was because she spoke to him bluntly without fear? Or cause she respected his privacy and let him be?

Or was it because she still treated him nicely most of the time no matter how mean he was to her? And even though it seemed she might like him too, due to their previous conversation and how she'd let him in and he'd let her in. She'd blushed when she said she didn't think of him as family and thought of everyone differently, but then again that could or couldn't mean nothing.

 Justin flopped down on his bed with a groan. The second he did, a pair beautiful, melodious voices filled his ears.

"I remember Daddy told me: "Fairytales can come true! You gotta make 'em happen, it all depends on you!"

"So I work real hard each and every day, now things for sure are going my way. Just doing what I do! Look out boys, I'm coming through! And I'm almost there, I'm almost there! People gonna come here from everywhere, and I'm almost there! I'm almost there! There's been trials and tribulations, you know I've had my share. But I've climbed the mountain, I've crossed the river, and I'm almost there, I'm almost there, I'm almost there!"

He got up and peeked out his door, seeing Mandy and Sam singing on the stair case. He'd already heard Sam's voice, but Mandy's? That girl had talent. He bit back a laugh as she dramatically turned, still singing, only to have her damp hair get water all over Sam.

"Hey! Watch it, Willow Smith!"

Mandy snorted and began to laugh. "I whip my hair back and forth! I whip my hair back and forth!" She swung her hair left and right, getting water everywhere.

"What are you two doing?" An irritated voice asked.

The two girls looked down the stairs, only to see Danny glaring up at them and dripping wet.

Sam gasped. "Just...goofing around." She snickered.

"Well if you two are going to goof around, do it with dry hair!" He smiled up at them and winked playfully. "Next time I'll be armed!"

"He's not serious is he?" Mandy asked quietly once he'd left.

"He is!"

"Oh darn." She giggled. "Okay, you go ahead and make us some popcorn for the movie, I'm going to get a towel for my hair."

Justin had been watching the whole time and could barely keep himself from laughing, another rare thing for him. He exited his room and was going to go get something to drink from the kitchen when he suddenly tripped over his untied shoelaces. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as he fell toward the staircase, about to crash into them and tumble down. Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm and yanked him back.

"Whoa! Just in time!" Mandy said.

He glanced at her hand, which was still on his arm. She let go of it quickly. "Sorry."

"Thanks for that." He said gratefully.

"No problem! And if you really want to thank me, you can put the hood of your jacket down and get that hair out of your face more often." She joked.

Their conversation was interrupted by Sam's yelling. "Get down here before the popcorn is gone!"

Mandy smiled in that cute way of hers. "I'll be down soon!" She called.

"How much hair do you have to dry?" Jason asked.

She laughed. "Shut up!" She giggled.

Her laughter was so infectious, that this time Justin laughed too, unable to help it.

Mandy laughed even harder when she heard him, he sounded like just like a dolphin! The two of them just stayed at the top of the stair case, clinging to the rails and laughing. Finally, they stopped and were quite out of breath.

She beamed. "I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before! It's just like a dolphin!"

He looked down at the floor, trying to fight the smile on his face.

"Don't be like that, it's cool! I want to be a dolphin too!" She tried to imitate the sound bit did it terribly.

He smirked.

"MANDY! Are you coming or what? And what are you doing up there?" Sam hollered.

"YEAH! Just give me a minute! And never mind what I'm doing!" She hollered back. "Can I ask you something?"

"Alright."

"Wanna come watch the movie with us?"

"GET DOWN HERE!" Sam screeched.

"Sam. Stop yelling." Danny scolded.

Mandy smiled apologetically. "I'd better get down there so we can start the movie."

He nodded.

She turned, halfway down the stairs. "Aren't you coming?"

He shook his head no.

"You sure? Okay then!"

Justin sighed as he watched her leave, the crush on her stirring inside him. As soon as she was out of sight, he looked down and sighed at his shyness and went to his room.

Meanwhile, Mandy was reluctantly chewing some red licorice while everyone sat and watched the Disney musical Into The Woods.

"I told you to come down before all the popcorn was gone!" Sam teased.

"Shut up."

\------------------------------------------------

Later that night, Danny was still trying to locate his brother when he suddenly got a phone call from an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Daniel."

"Gabriel!"

"Yep, it's me. The one and only."

"I suppose you've called to make death threats?" He asked sarcastically.

Gabriel chuckled. "What? Can't a brother check on his sibling to see how he's doing?"

"Not you, not after all that you did. Now what is it?"

"Just wanted to tell you, that girl of yours I nearly killed? She's MINE."

"Why do you want to kill her? She hasn't done anything to you!"

"Oh, I don't want to kill her anymore. I'm going to marry her and make her mine forever."

"That's illegal! She's fifteen!"

"I don't care if I have to wait a few years. I'll find a loophole and do whatever it takes."

"No you won't!"

Gabriel growled. "Oh I will. Don't doubt me, brother. There's no stopping me."

"And why, why, why did you have to kill Anastasia? We both loved her and I thought you'd moved on!"

"You know me. I NEVER MOVE ON! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO MARRY ME! IF I COULDN'T HAVE HER THEN NO ONE CAN!" Gabriel yelled.

Danny held the phone away from his ear until the shouting stopped. "Say what you want, point is I have the number to track you now."

"I use a lot of different phones, and don't think I'll be calling you again."

"I'll find you!"

Gabriel sighed. "Whatever you say, Daniel. The point is, Anastasia's child is mine and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

*BEEP*

The line went dead.

\-----------------------------------------------

The movie had finished, and Danny had gone back upstairs. Stephanie had returned a while ago, but was busy upstairs helping her husband with something. Meanwhile, Mandy sat on Jason's lap and buried her face into his neck as they watched TV together, Sam next to them and the two youngest on the floor playing with stuffed animals while watching. It was a really funny clip show, America's Funniest Home Videos, and everyone was giggling or laughing. Everyone except Mandy. This of course didn't go unnoticed by Sam or Jason so once the show finished they turned on something Billy and Charlie couldn't watch so they'd leave. Once they were gone they began talking to her.

"Lynn, what's bothering you?" Jason asked with a sigh. "You always laugh when we watch AFV."

"Yeah, like a machine gun." Sam added, trying to imitate the noise.

Mandy peeked out and managed a little smile. "I'm just....thinking."

"Well clearly you think too much because I never see enough of the happy, cute, smiling Mandy I know and love." He teased, bopping her nose.

At that she giggled in her machine gun way, making the other two grin.

"There's the old Mandy." Sam said, giving her a playful push.

"I'm still here you know. It's not like I've gone anywhere. I've been thinking about what happened to Justin in his past. When I found out more about Gabriel from Danny, he was stopping by the door to ask Danny something. We started talking and then he stretched and yawned his hoodie fell off...." She sighed. "And he was tortured. Burn marks, scars, bruises, all sorts of stuff. I thought we were making progress in getting along considering only a few nights ago I made him smile, laugh, and I got him to move his hair out of his face, and saw his two different colored eyes. I don't even think I should have told you about his scars and stuff."

"We've seen his marks and both eyes a few times too, so you don't have to worry about telling us. And we worry just as much as you do. You're not alone in this." Jason explained.

Sam nodded and put a hand on her shoulder.

"The question is, now what? I mean, we chatted about some stuff and I'm...I don't know I'm not sure what do to now because I don't know how I feel about seeing him like that." She lied. "How do I distract myself?"

"With the people you love obviously."

Mandy went silent and hid her face in Jason's neck again.

He and Sam exchanged confused glances before gasping and laughing.

"You have a crush on Justin, don't you, Lynn?"

"I am shocked. Like, seriously! He's a grouch! And possibly an emo! Why would you ever like him?"

Mandy finally got the courage to show her face once they stopped laughing. "He's not an emo and I know it. I mean sure he can be negative, and a little mean sometimes, but so can everyone else! And after seeing him without his jacket, I think he's got sort of a right to be how he is because of what happened in the past. I care about him, yes, just like I care about everyone else in this place. And...I think...I...know...I do have a crush on him. Him saving my life, smiling, laughing, and showing his true self to me is what made me fall in love with him. He's a completely different person than what everyone makes him out to be. He built a hard outer shell and I fell in love with the real Justin on the inside."

Sam smirked. "Well...I guess I'm happy for you? Sorry, it's just really weird because no one ever thought a girl would like him unless she was a skinny, pale, depressed goth chick or something."

Mandy rolled her eyes and glanced up at Jason.

"I'm surprised, but happy. I'm glad you care for him the way you do. I don't know how you did it, but you've slowly changed him."

Charlie and Billy came running downstairs. "Are you done now?" They asked eagerly.

"Yeah, I suppose." Mandy grinned. "I'm bored of TV! Let's dance! Sam, give me a beat!"

The girl snapped on the radio and soon the group was shaking, jumping, bumping, and dancing like they were back in the disco days. As they all danced and had lots of fun, they didn't notice that Justin had been in the kitchen the whole time and had heard EVERYTHING. His face felt hotter than a volcano on the hottest day in summer. He was blushing from the tip of his forehead down to his chin. He couldn't believe his ears! Mandy was in love with him?

Like actually in love? And what Jason had said about her changing him...was completely true. He'd been a lot less rude, a bit more talkative and cooperative too. Right now he was just seriously flattered and a bit confused. Wasn't she too old for him? He was thirteen and her fifteen. Two years wasn't that bad. Plus, if he was honest with himself he would have to admit he really liked her and had a crush on her too.

For one, she treated him differently than everyone else. Unless it was life threatening or something, she usually let him make his own decisions and get his consequences. She was also pretty hot according to him, what with her long black hair and sparkling brown eyes, her caring way with everyone and general affection was another thing he liked.

She could sing, sort of dance, and was curious but not nosy about what had happened to him. She had a mischievous streak and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. There were a lot of things he liked about her, and he had since a few days after her arrival. Finding out this though? It only made his crush on her even more. The question for him was what to do about it? That, he didn't know.

Once their little dance party had finished, Jason had started reading a story to the younger ones while the girls had gone upstairs. After making sure the coast was clear, Justin went back up to his room and fell on his bed with a groan. Why did love have to be so annoying and wonderful? Meanwhile, the girls were chatting in Mandy's room.

"So, what are you going to do about Justin?" Sam asked, wincing a bit as she sat down.

"I don't know. And are you okay?"

"My butt is still killing me from my porn watching punishment. And so is my crotch...ugh!" She shifted from side to side in discomfort.

Mandy, unfazed at the mention of her friend's crotch, raised an eyebrow and asked. "What's going on in there?"

"Well, let's just say I made a big mistake. I gave myself a bikini shave. It's pretty much bare and oh my gosh does it itch! Oh I hate myself for doing that!" She whined.

"I've done it once or twice myself, so I feel your pain."

"Whatever, enough about me. What are you going to do about Justin?"

"I don't know...I might tell him how I feel once we get to know each other better."

"Know each other better? Oh please! You both know each other plenty!"

"Well I'm going to wait and then decide." Mandy said, getting up. "I'm going to read for a bit."

As Mandy was going back to her room, she passed Justin's and found his door open. He was sitting on his bed with his head in his hand. "Justin? Are you alright?"

He didn't look up. "Is it true?"

She came in and shut the door behind her. "Is what true?"

"That you....love me."

She gasped and was stunned into silence for a moment. "I...I didn't know that you'd heard."

"I was in the kitchen getting food. Is it true though?"

"Y-yes....it's t-true."

He bit his lip and looked up at her, then tucked his hair behind his ear, revealing his whole face and two different colored eyes again. He tried not to smile, but he couldn't help it.

She smiled back and blushed. "I don't care what anyone else says. I love you, the real you. The you that's smiling back at me."

He stood up and held both of her hands. "Newsflash. I love you too. You're so different, and you accept me for who I am and for my dark past."

She blushed darker, and so did he.

And before he knew what he was doing he gently pinned her against the door and began to kiss her. She was shocked at first, but then began kissing back. When they broke the kiss, it had been ten minutes.

"Wow! Time flies!" Mandy giggled. "That was...amazing...."

He smiled. "Yeah..."

"Now that we've kissed, are you ready to let me in? Completely? No more being grumpy? Or at least trying not to be? I only have your best intentions you know."

"I'm ready, but the same goes for you. I know you have secrets too."

"We'll just find out together." She said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek.

He hugged her back. "Yeah. Together. You're sure this won't be weird...us together?"

She smirked. "Didn't you hear what I said earlier? I'm not obligated to treat people like family here. Danny and Stephanie are parental guardians, Jason is my big brother, Sam is my second best friend next to Emily, Billy and Charlie are my little kid friends, and you're the one I have a crush on."

"I love you..."

"I love you too..."

That night, Mandy went to bed with a song in her heart and a smile on her face. She had finally gotten through to Justin, and had actually kissed him! She couldn't believe she'd had her first kiss! It was enough to make any girl giddy! As she went to bed, the conversation they'd had ran through her head. Now she futilely tried to sleep, content as could be and excited how things would change. She imagined him wearing regular shirts and not being afraid of showing his scars, keeping his hair out of his face, and being a lot more positive.

She frowned when she realized that if those things were to happen, she'd have to change too. She needed to try and not be so rude, because lately she'd gotten quite the dirty mouth. She needed to improve her relationship with Danny and Stephanie, and try not to be so lazy and give everyone equal attention. If she worked on those things, Justin would work on his things too. It wasn't going to be easy, but it wouldn't be impossible if they coached each other through it. Even after Danny and Stephanie said goodnight to her, it was hard to sleep since she was so happy and excited. Speaking of the two adults, they were unusually extra cautious in locking her windows, door, and all doors of the house for some reason but she didn't think to ask about it.

As soon as Mandy fell asleep, she regretted it. She saw and felt Gabriel on top of her. He pinned her to her bed and whispered. "You're mine now. Mine and nobody else's."

She HATED lucid dreaming. It was one of those dreams where it felt like it was actually real, and you could control it.

"No I'm not! And I will NEVER be!" She shouted, trying to control the dream only to find out she couldn't control it,have a cloth pressed to her face, and knock her out.

When she woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar bed in a dark room. What an awful dream she'd just had!

"Wait a second...this isn't my bed! And...this is real!" She gasped.

Suddenly, the light flicked on and in the doorway of the bedroom stood a smirking Gabriel holding a large knife.

Mandy screamed.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stephanie jerked awake, thinking she'd heard something. Being the half-light sleeper she was she decided to check on all the kids, supposing one of them had just had a nightmare or something. Jason was fine, Sam, Justin, Billy, Charlie, all sleeping soundly. She was about to go back to bed herself when she froze in her tracks and slowly tip toed to Mandy's room. Easing the unlocked door open and turning on the light, she clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. She looked around the room and found a note on her window.

Brother,

I've got the girl, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. You are NOT invited to our wedding. You won't find us. I'm not even giving you a clue. Have fun comforting your pathetic attempt at a family. I'm going to marry her someday, until then I'll keep her in my custody, and she'll be mine forever. Anastasia's gone, so I'm taking her instead, the next best thing. Come after me, and then I'll kill your little family off. One. by. one. And you know I'm perfectly capable of that.

Good Riddance. -G.


	16. The Next Anastasia (Captured pt.1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandy is kidnapped.

"What do you want with me?" Mandy asked nervously, her eyes glued to the knife in his hand.

Gabriel grinned. "To marry you of course. Oh? This little thing?" He noticed her gaze and twirled the object in his hand. "This, and lots of other dangerous things won't be of any concern to you as long as you cooperate. Understand?"

She nodded, but couldn't hide her look of disgust and fear at the idea.

He ignored that and pulled a picture out of the top drawer of the dresser next to the bed. He handed it to her.

"Mom..."

"She was sixteen at the time, just a year older than you. I have to say she was quite the catch, she always was." He chuckled and took the picture back. "The resemblance between you and your mother is uncanny. The two of you could even be considered twins. Soon, it'll be just you and me and I'll have the wedding I never got."

"You can't marry me!" She snapped. "At...at least not legally."

"You're right, and I'm willing to wait the three years until you're of age. Until then, you'll be under my legal guardianship."

Mandy blinked back tears and tried not to cry.

Then, much to her surprise, Gabriel sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Don't worry Anastasia. Everything's going to be okay. I'm not that bad you know. We'll get you new clothes, give you a makeover, take you to the spa, all your favorite things. Won't that be fun?" He asked gently, his voice soothing.

She would have fought back, slapped him across the face or something, had he not still had the knife in his hand. So she let her tears fall only to have him gently brush them away. She shivered in disgust at his touch. "I...I'm not my mom...my name's Amanda." She mumbled.

Gabriel sighed and removed his arm from her shoulder. "I know. You can be the new Anastasia though, you can replace her. This time I'll make sure I'm not heartbroken and left in the cold." He said, anger creeping into his voice. Then, seeing her scared expression he changed his tone. "It'll be so much fun, trust me."

"No it won't...you'll hurt me if I don't do what you say..."

"Every wrong has it's consequences, and I won't hurt you just yet. I'll only resort to that if you're particularly disobedient."

"Yeah but-"

He put a finger to her lips. "Just relax and focus on all the fun we'll have."

Mandy barely restrained herself from biting his hand. "Uh...um...okay..."

With her answer, he pulled her into a hug and held her gently. Mandy tensed up, swallowed the bile that had come up, and waited it out. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, but it felt like an eternity.

Finally he stopped hugging her and went to the door. "Tomorrow I'll have you head out with Monica, a friend of mine, to get some new clothes. Sound fun?" He asked, just about to leave.

"I...I guess so..."

"You'll come around eventually. Best get some sleep sweetheart, I'll wake you up for breakfast in the morning."

She nodded and got into bed, waited until he was gone, then made a break for the windows. She managed to get one open and barely squeeze through, only to run and almost slam into an electric fence. Thankfully she'd heard the humming of the energy and had seen the sparks so she didn't get shocked. Looking around she groaned when she saw that the entire house was surrounded with it. Before she could figure out a way past the fence, Gabriel came out and took her back inside without a word. This time he locked the door and windows.

She tossed and turned in a fitful sleep, dreaming of being back with Danny and everyone else only to constantly wake up and find herself in her terrible reality.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Mandy woke up with a sleepy smile on her face and felt as if she was in the best mood ever, for about five seconds. When she woke up, she found herself in a plain, unfamiliar bedroom. She yawned and as she slowly woke up, she found herself in yesterday's clothes and in the bedroom Gabriel had locked her in. Remembering that awful man, she scowled, got out of bed and tried for the door. It was locked.

"GABRIEL!" She shouted, rattling the doorknob.

A few moments later, the door was unlocked and an extremely happy Gabriel stood in the doorway.

"Good Mor-"

Mandy cut him off and shoved him aside. "Shut up. Where's the bathroom?"

He rolled his eyes. "First door on the left. Meet me in the kitchen." He snapped.

After she was finished, Mandy thought of locking herself in, but what good would that do? She sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. _'Okay, this guy is clearly crazy. Try not to make him mad, so just be nice. Not nice...uh...cooperative!_ ' She thought. Walking out to the kitchen, she took a deep breath, hoping she'd be able to prepare what would come her way, and that she'd be able to figure out a way out or call for help some how.

Gabriel sat at the long wooden kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper, while a woman cooked breakfast in the kitchen. She had black hair up in a bun, had green eyes, black glasses, wore a gray form-fitting pantsuit, and black heels.

Mandy sat down slowly, inwardly wincing as Gabriel glared at her. Great, she'd already made him angry. "Uh, who's this?" She asked as the woman brought over her plate of scrambled eggs with bacon.

Gabriel's glare softened a bit. "That's Monica, she's my PA. She's going to give you a complete makeover soon, but for now I'll teach you how to act just like your mother."

"Monica?!?! How many other women have you kidnapped?!?!" Mandy asked, banging her fist on the table.

His eyebrows shot up. "Just you and her. And I'd watch that mouth if I were you." He warned. "Now shut up and eat."

"Someone will come looking for me." She mumbled through her mouthful of egg.

"True, but they'll never find you."

Mandy sighed and continued to eat, thankful he hadn't been the one who'd made the food because he might have poisoned it or something. When she was done, she helped Monica with the dishes and then was escorted by her to another room she hadn't seen before. The room seemed too busy looking, as it had a lot of things in it.

The walls were painted lavender, and there weren't any windows. There was a chalk board on the front wall, a desk in front of it, and to the right of the desk there was a makeup mirror/vanity with light bulbs and lots of makeup organized on the top surface. To the left of the desk, there was a table with several objects on it that had various backgrounds that were behind each of them. A bowl of fruit, a key, a plant, and a doll.

On the back wall, there was a giant picture of Anastasia. She stood in an old fifties cherry dress with her hair curled and a big smile on her face. Mandy stared at the room in wonder, then when she saw the picture of her mother back in college, she gasped and started tearing up. Gabriel smiled when he saw this.

"Good. Crying is one of the things Anastasia did a lot, since she was a sensitive little pansy most of the time, either that or she was doing that on purpose to appease me? I don't know. What I do know though, is that I liked it. Soon, you'll be just like her. Now take a seat at your desk, and we'll begin."

Mandy obeyed.

"Lesson one: Talking and Acting."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Danny and Stephanie called the police to come and investigate Mandy's room and filed a missing person's report. They investigated every inch of the room, only to find that once again just like in the fire the evidence had been expertly cleaned up and wiped away so as to leave no trace at all.

"Are you sure he's not a professional?" The officer, Rick, asked.

Danny shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

"Alright then, we'll need a picture of him and his medical records."

Once Danny gave Rick everything he needed, he and the other police officers left, promising they'd get back to them as soon as possible. After they left, everyone else started to wake up. Jason, Justin, Sam, Billy, and Charlie had all been asleep when Stephanie had found out that Mandy had been taken. She and Danny figured that it would be best to tell them in the morning, and now it was time.

Jason walked into the kitchen first, then Justin, Sam, and eventually Billy and Charlie behind her.

Stephanie stood at the sink, crying silently.

"What happened?" Jason asked, going over and hugging her.

Danny sat at the table, looking quite tired. "Mandy was kidnapped in the middle of last night. Gabriel got her."

Billy and Charlie frowned. "Mandy's gone?" They asked.

Stephanie nodded.

The two poor little things started crying, only to have Stephanie run over and try to get them to calm down.

Justin's fists clenched. "That FREAK! Call the police! We've GOT to find her!"

Danny raised his hand before Justin could say anything else. "The authorities just left a few minutes ago. They found out that any evidence that would have been there was cleaned up. Unfortunately my brother knows how to cover his tracks."

Sam folded her arms. "You know this is your fault."

Stephanie had finally gotten the little ones to calm down and sent them back to their rooms. "What do you mean it's all his fault?"

"If he'd had any suspicions about Gabriel, why didn't he say something earlier? Now Mandy's kidnapped because he didn't speak up! I mean, I know he's your brother but come on!"

Danny sighed. "I was looking for him ever since I had my suspicions actually, I just didn't tell any of you! I never wanted any of you to get involved in this. The thing is, I've got to look for her-"

Jason cut him off. "We've got to look for her." He said.

Justin nodded. "We're helping you, no matter what you say."

The man looked at them for a moment before shaking his head. "Alright, fine. If you're all going to help me, then you have to do exactly as I say. Now, back to what I was saying earlier. We've got to look for her, but try and do so without being traced. He left a note last night saying that if any of us tried to rescue Mandy, he'd start killing us off one by one."

They all went pale.

"See? This is why I didn't want you to be involved. I think now though, if we all stay together then we'll have a better chance of surviving."

"What about Billy and Charlie though?" Stephanie asked. "And Emily? I'm sure she'll want to join us."

Danny frowned. "Hmm. I don't know. Is there anyone we can leave them with?"

"I'll have to make a few calls and find out."

"And as for Emily, I'll give her and her parents a call."

"Alright then, let's do this."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NO! NO! NO!" Gabriel shouted. "DO IT AGAIN!"

Mandy bit her lip to keep back her tears, and stopped the tremor in her hands. She picked up the pencil again and wrote her mother's signature. She didn't say anything, but merely looked up at him in hopes that he would approve and not hit her again.

He looked at it and huffed before smacking her across the face. "One. More. Time. If you don't get it this time, then you'll get more than a little slap to the face." He growled.

Mandy whimpered and tried again.

He smirked. "Good girl." He chuckled, kissing her on the forehead.

Mandy shuddered. She would have fought him back, but with his previous threat she decided against it.

Gabriel walked to the door of the room opened it. "Monica!"

Monica ran over, her heels clicking loudly. "Yes? What is it sir?"

"Take Anastasia junior here, and give her a makeover." He ordered.

The woman frowned. "Now? Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! I want you to take her out and go shopping for some clothes tonight." He explained as he pulled out a folded paper from his pocket. "Here's a list. When you're finished with her, come get me."

"As you wish sir." Monica said quietly.

Once Gabriel left the room, she locked the door and rushed over to Mandy.

"Oh my word, are you alright?" She asked, looking her over.

Mandy nodded slowly. "My face still hurts, but other than that...he gave me a bruise on my arm. Besides those things I'm okay."

"I am so sorry about this." Monica sighed. "Come on, let's give you that makeover." She said, leading Mandy to the vanity and sitting her down.

"How long have you been here?" Mandy asked as her makeup was done.

"About six months."

"And you haven't tried to escape during all that time?"

"Believe me, I have tried. Gabriel is rather...a master of crime I suppose."

"Does he hurt you too?"

"Yes, but very rarely since I am at his every beck and call."

"How did he get you?"

"I used to work at this little coffee shop in town, and he was one of my regulars. I thought he was cute at first, and before I knew it I fell in love with him. He was a much better man at the time, you know?"

Mandy nodded. "Yeah, probably."

"Well, he knew I was in love with him. He wasn't in love with me, so he used my affections to his advantage. It started out with little things, giving him discounts, helping him with job opportunities, coming over once in a while too. After a while, my boss noticed I was slacking off because of Gabriel so he told me to either stop being with him or lose my job. As you can probably guess, I lost my job. I was heartbroken, I'd loved that job and it was a good paying one too! To make matters worse, I used to work there alongside my friends and now I couldn't anymore.

Heartbroken and sad, I turned to Gabriel for comfort. He took me to his place, watched some movies with me, and even got us pizza and ice cream. By the end of the night I felt a lot better and I was absolutely smitten with him, flattered that he'd been so nice. I was going to leave and head back to my apartment, which I'd bought, so thankfully I don't have to worry about building up rent. Anyway, I was going to leave when he offered to let me stay the night in the guest room. It was pretty late, and as I said I was smitten so of course I said yes. He even promised to have a job for me by morning.

The next morning, he told me he'd found me a job as promised. I asked what it was, and he told me it was being his personal assistant. I agreed immediately without a moment's thought. So blinded by my love for him, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I did whatever he asked for about a week, getting paid largely every day for my work and being allowed to go back to my apartment at night. That first week was amazing! I had lots of money, I was working for my crush, and everything seemed to be perfect! What more could I want?

During the second week, I noticed that he was paying me a little less and having me stay longer into the night. I was a little surprised and confused, but I still didn't mind very much. The third week, I stayed even later and got paid even less. By the fourth week I was getting less than minimum wage and I decided to confront him about it. We talked, and he pretended to love me. He told me he was paying me less so I'd come back more often, meaning weekends in addition to the work week. It was then that he asked me to stay with him forever and I accepted. A month later, we'd moved out of town because of some crimes he'd committed. It was then that I'd realized what I'd gotten myself into, and you can be sure I didn't love him at all anymore.

Once we'd moved to another place and changed our identities, I stood up to him and told him I wanted to leave. He got very, very, very angry and hit me...hard...multiple times. So from then on I have been trapped with him, as his PA. I've tried to escape a few times in the past, but I'd never make it and he'd just beat me harder every time I tried. Soon, I stopped trying and I've been trapped here ever since. I never wanted this to happen...I've been hoping that some how some way I would be able to find some kind of way out but I haven't had much luck. At least I've got you now, so I won't be as lonely." Monica said.

Mandy stared at her. "Wow, I'm sorry all this happened to you. And look, you can't give up now! Danny, Stephanie, Jason, Sam, Emily, and Justin will be looking for me! I'm sure they'll come through and find me, and you too!"

"My friends and family have been looking for me for a while now as far as I know, but I doubt they'll find me since we keep moving around. We've been in this place for three months, and that's the longest we've ever stayed. I have a feeling though, that we will leave again soon. Especially since this is a...family matter."

Mandy sighed. "Can't we do anything?"

"We can, but I highly doubt it will do anything except get us into trouble." Monica replied grimly. "There. Your makeup is done, but keep your eyes closed. I don't want you to see until I'm completely done with your hair and makeup."

It took an hour to do Mandy's hair, since it was so curly and her mother's wasn't as curly as hers. She got her bountiful little curls from her father, in addition to his brown eyes. Her hair was ironed, then given some gentle curls at the end.

"Can I see now?" Mandy asked, slightly excited. She knew it was messed up, being trapped and forced to become her mother, but what girl wouldn't be even at least the smallest bit excited about a new look?

Monica smiled for the first time that day. "Not yet. Come over here and change into the dress and shoes we have for you. I'll wait in the hallway." She said.

Once she'd left, Mandy picked up the dress and stared at it. It was a light blue with little white polka dots all over, had a collared button down front with no sleeves and it was very form fitting. The lower half of the dress however, was a comfortable full skirt and black heels to finish it off. Mandy put it on carefully so as not to mess up her hair and makeup. When she was done she called for Monica, who gasped when she saw her.

"What is it?"

"You're a spitting image of her, except for your eyes and you're younger. Here, just a few more final touches. Some red lipstick, a matching headband, and a pearl ring on your right middle finger."

"Mom did love pearls." Mandy said quietly, remembering her mother fondly. "Wait a second, this is one of her outfits! I remember it because when I was a kid I'd go through her clothes and play dress up a lot! She really liked old fashioned things and styles. Please tell me this isn't her original dress!"

"Oh no, of course not! It wouldn't fit you if it was your mother's actual dress. This outfit was just Gabriel's favorite so he had me recreate it for you. This though, is the only outfit we have for you so we'll have to go shopping tonight."

"Are you finished now?"

"Yes! Go take a look!"

Mandy walked slowly and hesitantly towards the vanity's mirror, afraid of what she might see. Finally, she stepped in front of it and froze. She looked at Monica, then back at her reflection and scowled. A new fury boiling in her veins. Sure, she looked nice, but having her look like a younger reincarnation of her mother only reminded her of how sick, twisted and awful this entire thing was. Hot tears of anger filled her eyes but she blinked them back.

Monica noticed this and put a hand on her shoulder. "I know...I know...you'll get used to this eventually."

Mandy spun around and directed her fiery glare towards her. "No! I WON'T get used to this because I WON'T be here! I don't care what you say, or about whatever happened in the past! I AM going to figure out some way out of here and away from that awful man! I'll do WHATEVER it takes!"

The woman smiled gently. "I know you will sweetie."

"Then help me! I can't do this by myself! Look, when he comes in I'll act like he taught me but I'll really play it up. Do you have any sleeping pills or any medication that could knock him out?"

"Yes, he does have trouble sleeping sometimes."

"Great, so I'll watch some TV with him then fix him a drink and put the medicine in it. Once he falls asleep, I'll call Danny so he can find out that I'm safe, that you're here, trace the call and come and rescue us. Easy."

"I...I don't know...."

"Come on! Haven't you wanted to escape him for months?"

"Well...yes...I suppose."

"Then what's stopping you? Afraid of being hit again?"

"Yes! He's done worse than hit me!"

Mandy blinked. "Wait, what?"

"You name it, he's done it." Monica snapped, her voice angry and shaky. "Just about everything."

The door suddenly slammed open and Gabriel stormed in. "WHAT'S WITH ALL THE NOISE?!?!" He shouted. "YOU TWO HAD BETTER SHUT-" He cut himself off mid-sentence when he saw Mandy.

She looked at him and smiled, remembering to act like he'd taught her, or else there would be consequences. "Hi Gabriel! Did you miss me? I've missed you so much!" She said, using the voice he'd taught her.

He stood there in shock.

"What's wrong? Hmm?" Mandy asked, hating herself for doing this but reasoning that she had to for fear of her life. She walked over to him. "Are you alright? Please say something."

He smiled. "Anastasia...it's really you." he whispered.

Mandy barely kept from breaking character and retching. "Of course it's me. I've missed you."

"I-I've missed you t-too." He stuttered, still in shock.

"You're the one that I love, not Steve, not Danny. It's you, only you."

He smiled and started to dance with her, then Monica played some music on her phone and turned down the lights a little bit. Gabriel and Mandy waltzed together, looking like the perfect couple to anyone else, but to those who knew what was really going on it was one of the most repulsing things they could think of. Mandy, thankfully, had done plays and skits in school so she was good at keeping up the act. Gabriel was falling for it every step of the way.

When the song had finished, the light was turned back up. Mandy smiled at Gabriel, who kissed her cheek in silent thanks.

Monica broke the silence. "Sir, it's nearly supper time. What would you like me to go pick up?"

Gabriel thought for a moment. "Um...how about Italian?"

"Of course sir, whatever you'd like."

Mandy smiled. "That sounds delicious darling. Would you like to come and watch a movie with me until then? How about the lord of the rings? It's your favorite!"

Gabriel took her hand as they walked out of the room together, following Monica. "That sounds amazing." He sighed. "Gosh, I love you."

Mandy beamed. "I love you too." She said. "Why don't you go and set it up for us? I've got to use the restroom, I'll be right there."

"Okay."

As soon as she'd locked the door behind her, Mandy stared at her self in the mirror for a split second before dry heaving. She was so disgusted by this and this man that she nearly threw up. "I'm so sorry Mom...I'm so sorry." She whispered. After taking a few minutes to compose herself again and calm down with some deep breathing, she went back out with a charming smile and sat next to Gabriel on the couch. Much to her displeasure, he put his arm around her.

Mandy sat through the movie, actually getting into it without intending too. She'd heard of the Lord of the Rings before but she'd never seen it. It wasn't until the move was three quarters of the way over that Monica got her attention and gave her a look, reminding her of their plan.

"Sweetheart, are you thirsty?" She asked quietly.

Gabriel nodded. "Come to think of it, yeah."

"Would you like me to make you some lemonade?"

"That would be wonderful."

Mandy kissed his cheek before heading to the kitchen, where she started making the lemonade and found the pills that Monica had previously ground up and put into a little measuring cup. After dumping that into the drink, mixing it up, and hiding the measuring cup she returned to the couch. She gave him his lemonade, and brought a glass of water for herself.

"Thank you Anastasia."

"You're welcome."

He drank it, and by the time the first movie had finished he'd finished it and had fallen asleep. Mandy slowly removed his arm from his shoulder and put it back on the couch, extremely grateful that he didn't wake up. She took off her heels and carried them to the back, where Monica had found her cell phone in Gabriel's room. They met in Monica's room and locked themselves inside. As Mandy turned on her phone, she prayed it still had battery left, and much to their relief it did! She dialed Danny's number and hoped he'd answer.

It rang once.

Twice.

And a third time.

"Mandy!" Danny gasped. "Is this you?" He asked.

Mandy giggled with pure joy and relief. "Yes! Yes it's me!"

"Where are you? Are you alright?"

"I don't know where I am, but I need you to call the police and have them trace this call."

"I already am! I have them on the line with me now, I linked the calls."

"Good! Okay, so he's...he's got me dressed up like my mother and having me act like her. I managed to convince him enough to give him a drink and have his sleeping pills put into it. He's passed out on the couch right now, and I'm not the only one here!"

"What do you mean?"

"There's a woman here named Monica and he's trapped her for six months!"

"What's her full name?"

"Monica Eliza Stewart."

"Thank you, the police will get there as soon as they can, and so will we. Stephanie, Jason, Justin, Sam, Emily, and I will all come for you Mandy, don't you worry. Tell Monica that the police are looking for her family right now and we've found your address. We'll be there soon, just hold on until we get there, alright?"

"Okay Danny, thank you."

"I love you Mandy."

"I love you too, please hurry."

"I will, I'll see you soon."

"Alright, bye."

As soon as she hung up, Mandy called Emily while Monica went to check if Gabriel was still sleeping.

"MANDY! WHERE ARE YOU WHY HAVEN'T YOU CALLED ME ARE YOU OKAY?" Emily screamed.

"Emily hush! Be quiet!" Mandy hissed. "I'm fine for now, except for the fact that Gabriel has been hitting me."

Emily spoke quieter. "Hitting you?!?! What the-"

"Yes, he hits me and this woman named Monica who he's captured and had for half a year."

"Oh my gosh....Mandy..."

"You know what else he's done to me? Made me into a miniature version of my mother!"

"That's disgusting! Have you called the police yet?"

"I called Danny and he and the police are tracing my call right now. I hope you come to rescue me with everyone else."

"Oh trust me, I'm going to come no matter what anyone says! I'm your best friend and I am NOT going to leave you or let you be in danger!"

Mandy smiled. "Thanks Em."

"No problem Mandy. Love ya."

"Love ya too. Look, I'd love to stay and keep chatting but I need to hang up and put everything back before Gabriel wakes up. Okay?"

"Alright, I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Bye."

Monica had come back and much to their relief, Gabriel was still sound asleep. After she'd turned off the phone and put it back in his room where she'd found it, she left to go pick up supper. Meanwhile, Mandy put in the next movie and settled herself back in Gabriel's arms. He stirred and woke up groggily, the two small sleeping pills not lasting for very long.

He yawned. "I must have fallen asleep." He mumbled.

"You sure did." Mandy giggled. "I hope you don't mind I kept watching."

"No, no, not at all Anastasia. Where's Monica?" He asked.

Mandy glanced at the door. "Oh, she's out getting supper remember? Italian food."

"Good."

They sat together through barely half of the next movie before Monica returned with the food. Mandy and Gabriel sat at the table while Monica ate in her room. They'd chatted about old times, or at least the ones Mandy had been told about and forced to memorize. The food was great, but she had a hard time eating since she was so nervous. Could they pull this off? What if Gabriel did something to them before anyone got here?

And almost as if on cue, Gabriel got a notification on his phone. He frowned when he saw it and then left, telling Mandy that he'd be back in a minute. The notification on his phone said there was activity in the town. He went to his room and opened his laptop, looking at the security footage he'd hacked into of the town. He looked at two places in particular. The police station, and Evan's House.

He scowled as he saw the police officers packing up and getting ready to leave and most of the family and another girl get into the car at Evan's. He slammed his laptop shut and stormed out to the dining room. He kicked the legs of Mandy's chair so she fell on her back.

She shrieked and slowly got up, thankfully unharmed. "W-what's wrong honey?"

Gabriel's eyes were like fire. He slapped her across the face, once, twice, three times. "DON'T YOU 'HONEY' ME! ANASTASIA WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?" He yelled, pinning her to the wall. "Everything was perfect. Perfect. And now all of a sudden the police and my brother are coming after me?" He started to choke her.

Mandy gasped and clawed at his hands, trying to pry them off.

"I killed you once, don't think that I won't come very close to doing it again!"

Here eyes went wide as he squeezed harder.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" He yelled, then spoke in a calm but dangerous tone. "I'll _allow_ you to live, but I'm going to make it so _miserable_ you're going to _wish_ I killed you!"

Suddenly, someone hit him on the head with a rolling pin. Instantly he let go of Mandy's neck, and she collapsed on the floor, coughing and gasping for air. Unfortunately, the blow wasn't strong enough to knock him out again. He whirled around, rubbing his head."

"Monica."

She stood there, holding the pin and glaring at him. Even though she looked brave, inside she was terrified.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll put that down, and start packing up." He growled.

She stood there, unsure for a moment.

" _Monica_." He warned.

She didn't take his warning and swung at him again, only to miss. He grabbed her arm and twisted it to make her release the rolling pin. She gasped and instantly let go, and when she did he pinned her to the wall and shoved her arm up her back.

"I broke your arm _once_ , I can do it _again_."

She cried out as he pushed her arm further. It felt as if it was nearly at the point of snapping.

"Now, go and pack up and take that little _witch_ with you. And do it quickly, or you'll die up in flames along with the rest of the place." He said as he let her go.

She ran off as soon as he did to go and pack up what they needed.

Gabriel turned to Mandy and tipped her chin up so she looked at him. "Anastasia, if you're good from now on then I won't hurt you as much as I plan to. I'm only doing this, because _I love you_."

Mandy glared at him and spat in his face.

He grabbed her arm, yanked her off the ground and tossed her into the hallway. "Go pack things up." He ordered. "Or else."

Scrambling up off the ground, Mandy ran towards her room to pack what little she had. As she did, tears streamed down her face and ruined her mascara but she didn't care. All she cared about was Danny, Stephanie, Emily, the police, and everyone else getting here before Gabriel did anything else. She stopped for a moment, a new smell invading her nostrils.

 _Gasoline_.


	17. Love Never Dies (Captured pt.2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel feels conviction, and sees all the horrible things he's done.

As Monica and Mandy packed up what they could, Gabriel was busy keeping an eye out on the street. He kept occasionally spilling gasoline and checking his phone for the cops and his brother's distance.

Gabriel paced back and forth, his heart pounding so loudly he thought the entire world could hear it. "No...no. They will not take her away...not this time. No one will." He muttered angrily, his hand clenching around his phone. "ARE THE TWO OF YOU DONE YET?!?!" He shouted, his patience getting shorter by the second.

"Almost!" Monica called.

He slammed his phone on the table and stomped to his room, where they were packing his things now. "Almost? Hurry up woman! We don't have much time!" He barked. " You know what? Move." He shoved Monica aside before tossing more clothes, an old shoe box, pictures of Anastasia and him, one of his family, and most of his guns and lighters into the suitcase. Two of the guns he shoved into his pockets.

Just as he was finishing and zipping up the suitcase, sirens blared in the distance, rapidly approaching. Gabriel swore and cocked one of his guns. "Monica, Anastasia, get the suitcases. Stay close to me." He said as they followed him out of his bedroom and into the living room. The sirens were extremely close now and seconds later, they stopped. Monica, Mandy, and Gabriel had made it halfway into the living room when they heard the car doors close and people talk, though they couldn't tell who.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes it is. Now I want all of you to stay back unless we give you the okay to come forward, understand?"

"Yes, just please rescue her officer."

"We'll do our best sir."

Gabriel ushered everyone behind the counter in the kitchen and signaled for them to be quiet.

The door slammed open and footsteps approached with guns cocking.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?"

Mandy opened her mouth, about to yell, scream, say something, anything when Gabriel clamped his free hand over her mouth and whispered very quietly in her ear. Quiet enough so the police couldn't hear it, but just loud enough so that she could.

"You say one word, one word and I will shoot the cops, bring your little family in here, shoot them too and leave the place burning. So unless you want them to live to see another day, you'd best keep. your. mouth. shut."

Mandy shuddered but nodded slowly.

The police officers walked around a bit until one of them spoke up. "Phil, you go and check down the hall. I'll continue looking in this area."

"Got it Rick."

Officer Rick looked around carefully. "He's definitely here!" He called to Phil, who didn't answer. "Gasoline's everywhere." He coughed. "Sure does like his big houses, doesn't he?" He said to himself.

Gabriel had just started to move everyone towards the exit of the kitchen, which was a few feet away from the back door when the sound of footsteps approached quickly. Everyone froze, and as they did, Rick entered the kitchen with his gun aimed.

"Put your hands up." He ordered. "Or I'll shoot."

"A cop killing the killer? A bit hypocritical don't you think, Rick?" Gabriel chuckled, slowly standing up with Monica and Mandy at his sides.

Rick's eyes narrowed. "Oh shut up. Hand over the girls, come peacefully and you won't get hurt."

Gabriel pulled out his gun that he'd been hiding behind his back. "I won't be the one who's getting hurt, officer." He said, and fired his gun.

Mandy watched the moment in horror, her ears ringing from the gunshots. Gabriel fired his at the same time Officer Rick did. The moment seemed to go in slow motion. Gabriel's bullet zoomed past Rick's, going straight through the man's shoulder while Rick's bulled barely missed Gabriel by a hair.

Rick collapsed to the floor and as soon as he did, Phil ran out with his gun at the ready. He was too late. Gabriel had shoved the girls and luggage out the back door before tossing his lighter inside and lighting up the place in mere seconds since it was made of wood and practically drenched in lighter fluid.

Danny, who was outside waiting with Stephanie, Jason, Justin, Sam, and Emily, ran inside as soon as he saw the flames.

"DANNY!" Stephanie screamed, running after him. "Don't!"

He turned to her. "I HAVE to go in there! I have to go help them!" And with that, he kicked the door down and ran in. The place had caught up in flames so quickly, and the smoke was so thick Danny could barely see anything.

He coughed and put his shirt over his nose as he ran through the house. "WHERE ARE YOU?" He called.

"Over...here!" A weak voice called back, ending with a fit of coughing.

Danny ran towards the voice as fast as he could. Since he couldn't see very well, he bumped into one of the flaming pieces of furniture and severely burned his leg. "AAAAHHH!" He cried out and quickly slapped out the flame before limping over to the two smoky silhouettes. Phil stood there, coughing, with the unconscious officer's arm around his shoulder. Danny took his other arm as they moved quickly back towards the front door. The back door would have been easier but it was too consumed by flames to get through without being more injured than they would be going through the front.

"Come on! Come on!" Danny urged Phil, who was getting weaker by the minute as the smoke filled his lungs and stung his eyes. "Rick, stay with me!"

They were only a foot or so in front of the door when the roof started to cave in. Going faster, they finally made it. Unfortunately, the door had shut behind Danny when he'd first come in, and to make matters worse, kicking it wasn't helping this time since the metal hinges were starting to melt.

"Phil, hold him!"

"I got him!"

Danny backed up and then ran towards the door, shoulder first. It moved slightly. He rammed against it again, and again and-

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As soon as Gabriel had tossed the lighter inside the house behind them, he grinned as he watched fire sprout up and begin eating up the large wooden house. He only watched the beautiful sight for a moment before running with the girls towards his white pickup truck parked a short distance away.

While they were running, Mandy took her opportunity to run away, screaming for help. Gabriel bounded after her, shouting at Monica to load the luggage. On the other side of the house where Stephanie was watching intently, keeping the teens back and waiting for Danny, she heard Mandy scream. As soon as the first bit of sound hit her ears she ran around the house towards the screams only to see Gabriel catching up to Mandy and grabbing her, putting a hand over her mouth and nose, causing her to pass out.

Stephanie lunged for Gabriel and tackled him to the ground, punching him in the face, unaware that the teens were running towards them. Gabriel rolled and tossed her off him before scrambling away as she went after him. He managed to get to his feet just as she did and grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the ground. She didn't have a chance to fight back before he grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up, then started to reach for his gun again.

Jason and Emily made it to them, but when they did Gabriel already had his gun out and had it pressed against Stephanie's temple.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there you two." He warned. "Stay right where you are."

"Let. her. go." Jason growled.

Gabriel smirked. "Or what? What are you gonna do about it, you lily livered, weak, freakish orphan? Huh? What are you gonna do?"

Emily moved a step to the side, hoping to get a little closer to Mandy, who was unconscious behind Gabriel and Stephanie. And now that Monica had gotten the luggage loaded, she was beginning to pick up Mandy and take her away. Without thinking, Gabriel immediately pointed his gun at Emily.

"NO ONE IS EVER GOING TO GET EVEN THE SLIGHTEST BIT CLOSE TO MY ANASTASIA AGAIN!" He shouted.

"Except me!" Stephanie said as she used all her strength and managed to shove him to the ground. "JASON! COME HELP ME!" She shouted. "EMILY! GO GET MANDY!"

Jason pulled Stephanie off of him, who shot his gun but thankfully missed. He wrestled with Gabriel on the ground and managed to get the gun and toss it away from them. Jason grunted as he was kicked by Gabriel, who'd curled up during the wrestling, waited until the teen was right on top of him and then pow! Jason was kicked into mid air and landed a few feet away, where he groaned and then lost consciousness.

While the two had been wrestling, Stephanie had been struggling to get to the gun but Gabriel grabbed her leg and pulled her to the ground before jumping to his feet and kicking her in the stomach a few times before aiming his gun at Emily, who had made it to the truck and was trying her best to pull an unconscious Mandy out of it, but that wasn't the easiest thing for her.

Gabriel fired.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Danny rammed himself against the door again, his shoulder badly hurt now. "COME ON!" He shouted angrily before going into a fit of coughing.

"DANNY!" Justin called from outside.

"DANNY! WE'RE COMING IN!" Sam echoed.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Danny yelled. "YOU STAY WHERE YOU ARE AND DO AS YOU'RE TOLD! BE READY! I THINK I GOT IT! I JUST HAVE TO BACK UP FARTHER! READY? HERE WE COME!"

He backed up farther away, knowing this was their absolute last chance to make it and he prayed that they would. With the house engulfed in flames and crumbling around them he ran towards the door one last time, using all the strength he had left and CRASH! The door cracked, crumbled and finally they were able to get out.

Danny rapidly limped out, coughing his heart out and helping a choking Phil carry Rick to the car with help from Justin and Sam.  Danny steadied himself against the car while Jason tried to wake up Rick and Sam and Phil were searching for the first aid inside the car, finding it quickly.

Phil ripped open Rick's shirt, revealing the white tank top he wore underneath. "Sam, give me the gauze. We've got to stop this bleeding until we can get him to a hospital. Justin, how's Danny doing?"

Justin sighed. "He's got some pretty severe burns, cuts and splinters. Are you hurt Phil?"

"A little, but nothing serious. I'm the one who got lucky. Now, go help Sam get Rick into the car while I see what I can do about Danny's wounds."

"What about Stephanie, Jason and Emily? Shouldn't we go help them? I heard a gunshot!" Sam said.

Danny shook his head. "We stick to the plan we made earlier. If our group gets separated, and they can't handle things on their own, they give us the signal."

"But what if they're really hurt and can't give us the signal?"

"Then I'll go see! I'll be right back!" Justin said.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily threw herself to the ground instinctively, breathing hard as the gunshot rang in her ears. He didn't hit her.  She looked over and saw Jason unconscious a short distance away from Stephanie who was weakly and very slowly crawling towards them, blood dripping from her mouth. She looked back at Gabriel, who was marching towards her with his gun aimed at her again.

"For a guy who's obsessed with fire, you sure do like guns don't you?" Emily asked.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

She slowly, slowly started to get up, her hands raised in surrender.

His eyes narrowed, but he didn't do anything else.

Monica had been watching everything from inside the car, wishing it would all go away, wishing she could go out and help them...somehow. She didn't because she knew as soon as she stepped foot outside the car door, Gabriel would shoot her without a thought and no one was close enough to help her either. Now, she saw him trailing a girl with his gun readying to shoot and saw another boy making his way towards them. Her pulse raced and little beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Heaven forbid someone was killed because she didn't, and couldn't help them or do anything really.

There was one thing she could do though, except she had no idea how much of a help it would be. She honked the car horn loudly, hoping to distract Gabriel enough to give the girl a chance to do something! It worked! He glanced over at her, and as soon as he did the girl swung her leg in a wide circular motion, kicking the gun out of his hand and into the air.

As soon as the gun was out of his reach she dove for it, only to fall hard onto the edge of the trunk. Monica winced as she saw the girl's face wrinkle with pain as the metal dug into her ribs. Then she gasped as she saw Gabriel grab her by her hair, yank her down, slam her head against the car a few times to knock her out and run over to the passenger side of the car and get in just as that other boy had caught up, only a few steps behind them.

"GO! GO! GO!" Gabriel screamed.

Monica pushed the gas pedal to the floor and left that other kid in a cloud of dust as they zoomed off and was silently thankful they were in the middle of nowhere to there weren't and most likely wouldn't be any other cars to worry about.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin coughed as the car sped off, leaving him in a cloud of dust. He stood there for a moment in a sort of daze, trying to process what had just happened. A pyromaniac had just driven off with the girl he loved and had seriously harmed the people he considered to be his family. Shaking his head he snapped out of it, and when he did anger flooded his veins. He looked at Emily, who was right next to him, thankfully she didn't look too hurt but she was just unconscious. Running over Jason, he winced as he saw that he'd been punched in the face, a lot. And finally, he ran over to Stephanie.

He stopped cold when he saw her. She'd also passed out, her energy gone from uselessly trying to crawl over to Gabriel to try and stop him one more time. Her head bled in one spot where it had been yanked out, and her mouth was dripping with blood from being punched in the jaw and kicked in the stomach quite a few times. He dropped to his knees, his eyes filling with tears of both sadness and anger.

He gritted his teeth and screamed the signal at the top of his lungs.

In an instant, Danny, Officer Phil, and Sam all came running. Well, except perhaps Danny, since he was limping more than running.

When Sam saw the damage she burst into tears as she helped Justin and Phil try and wake them up and take them back to the car. Danny turned away, his eyes full of tears but his heart filled with rage. He sighed with some slight relief as the firetruck pulled up and started putting out the fire. Within minutes it was out and everyone was on their way to the hospital.

The ride in the ambulance was silent and tense, which was mostly Danny's doing. He simply glared out the windows of the back doors, his body stiff and ridged with anger.

_'I'll get you for this Gabriel...I'll get you.'_

_\------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Once Monica had driven at full speed for two minutes, she slowed down to an even forty five miles per hour. The ride had been silent until now and she hated it. "Should we pull over?"

Gabriel, who'd been staring out the window, blinked. "What?"

"I asked if we should pull over."

"Why?"

"Mandy-"

"Anastasia."

"Sorry. Anastasia's still in the trunk and we took off at full speed with her in it and without any protection. I'm asking if we should pull over just to check on her, see if she's alright and maybe bring her in the front."

Gabriel's eyes went wide and he swore. "Stop the car! Pull over! Pull over!"

Monica pulled over and parked, getting out with him.

"What was I thinking?!?! Why didn't you say something earlier?" He asked, opening the entry way to the trunk and climbing in to check on Mandy. He sighed with relief. "She's alright. Here, help me get her to the front."

It took them a few minutes, but soon they were back on the road with Mandy buckled in between them in the front seat, still unconscious and with her head leaning on Gabriel's shoulder.

Monica sighed. "So where are we going?"

"What?" He asked.

"Where are we going?"

"Deep into the woods."

"Are you serious?"

"Are you questioning my orders?"

"Yes! We need a better place to stay than that! Another place that's hidden and where we won't be so exposed!"

"I'd watch that tone if I were you. And just do as I said and go deep into the woods! See? Look, there a few miles up ahead."

"So?"

"So, if you go in and go west for a mile or so there's this big cave. I've gone to this cave many times to hide from the cops, and it's worked."

"What about the car? And what about food, water, and provisions?"

"We'll get to the cave, and sleep there for tonight. Tomorrow, you'll take the car and go out to get us foot and everything we'll need. When you get back, we'll help you hide the car with leaves, bushes and whatever else we can find."

"Alright then, whatever you say boss..."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stephanie's eyes fluttered open and she was met with the sight of her wonderful husband. She smiled weakly. "Danny!" She whispered.

He smiled and kissed her hand. "Hello honey blossom."

"What happened? Is everyone alright? All I remember is being kicked in the stomach, trying to get to Gabriel again and passing out." She mumbled, rubbing her head.

Danny's smile disappeared. "Well, Jason's face got messed up pretty bad and he was kicked in the gut like you were, and he managed to get away with just a little internal bruising which isn't serious. Emily has a slight concussion along with a few cuts and bruises, Officer Rick is going to be fine since he was just shot in the shoulder, and Officer Phil has a few minor cuts and burns so he'll be fine too. Sam and Justin didn't get hurt, but...unfortunately I did."

Stephanie's eyes filled with concern. "What happened?"

"My upper leg got burned pretty badly, and the doctor says I've got some deep cuts and other bad burns. He got my splinters, but I messed up my shoulder pretty bad." He said, nodding to his left shoulder which was bandaged up. "Thankfully though, we'll all be alright."

"What about me? What did the doctor's say about me?" She asked worriedly. "Please tell me there's no permanent damage."

"There isn't, don't worry honey blossom."

She sighed with relief.

"The damage isn't permanent, but it'll be temporary for quite a while." Danny sighed.

"What?!?"

"You're head's fine, even though you lost a little hair it's not noticeable, and you were very lucky to only have a small cut on the inside of your cheek when he punched you."

"Is that the temporary damage?"

Danny gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm afraid not. Stephanie...you...you broke a rib."

She gasped, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh...oh my goodness."

He leaned over and hugged her very gently. "The doctor says it'll take six weeks to heal."

"Six weeks? I can't stay in this hospital bed while my baby is out there in the hands of that pyromaniac!"

"I'll have to ask the doctor if and when you can leave, but if he does allow you to leave then you'll have to take it really, really easy."

She started to sob quietly. "I hate him! I hate your brother!"

Danny didn't look at her. "I'd agree with you, but he's my blood." He said quietly.

She ignored that and continued to sob.

He kissed her cheek. "Look, I'll do whatever it takes, alright? Once I get the doctor's okay, I'll do whatever it takes to get Mandy back, alright?"

She nodded.

"I'm going to go talk to the doctor now, see how long you have to be in here. I'll be right back."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mandy yawned and stretched, feeling content and happy as she realized she was using someone's lap as a pillow. That feeling lasted for about five seconds before she completely woke up and discovered it was Gabriel's lap. She sat up quickly and backed away from him, finding herself in a cave and a fire lit in the middle of it.

"So my sleeping beauty is finally awake, huh? How'd you sleep?" Gabriel asked casually, poking at the fire with a stick.

"Um...fine I guess. My head hurts a little." She answered honestly.

He turned to her, looking concern. "Do you hurt anywhere else?"

"No, other than that I'm fine." She said. "Physically. Emotionally? I'm on FIRE!"

"Ah fire, I love fire." He chuckled.

"Stop it!" She snapped. "This isn't funny!"

"It kind of is." He replied with a smirk. "You're cute when you're mad."

"SHUT UP!" She yelled as she stomped towards him. "YOU HURT MY FAMILY AND ME AND KILLED MY PARENTS,  AND TRIED TO TURN ME INTO MY MOTHER! AND NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY AND NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO I WILL NEVER BE HER! DEEP DOWN IN YOUR HEART YOU KNOW THAT THIS 'ANASTASIA' STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU IS A LIE!"

Gabriel stared at her, taken aback by her words.

Mandy glared at him, breathing heavily from her screaming.

He slowly stood up, and then pinned her against the wall. "YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" He yelled. "AND BE GRATEFUL I HAVEN'T KILLED YOU TOO!"

Mandy nodded slowly, but still glared at him defiantly.

He groaned and sat back down by the fire and rubbed his temples.

"Where's Monica?" She asked, sitting across from him.

"Getting some-"

"Food!" Monica announced as she walked in with arms full of groceries. "Hope you both like Chinese takeout. We've got enough other food and water to last us a while, I bought two tents, sleeping bags, and pillows, and a couple other things I thought we might need."

Gabriel smiled. "Good job Monica, you finally did something right. It was a good thing I remembered to bring all the extra cash I had huh?"

"It sure was!" She agreed.

The three of them ate in silence, Mandy refusing to talk or act like her mother no matter how many times Gabriel prompted her or Monica gave her insistent looks in fear that he might get violent again. Once they finished eating, the trash was put into a black garbage bag and the tents were set up. As soon as they were ready, Gabriel went straight to bed and fell asleep quickly in his tent that he'd placed more towards the front of the cave to be ready to fight anyone who came their way.

The tent Monica and Mandy shared was more towards the back so they'd be safer, and also farther away from him. They decided to hit the hay after eating too, since they were both pretty tired.

"I wish I'd never met Gabriel." Monica sighed.

Mandy yawned. "Me too. I wish I hadn't gone to research and try and find out who killed my parents...I mean if I hadn't then none of this mess would have even happened."

"Don't think like that, please. This isn't your fault."

"I know...but still."

"This isn't your fault, okay? This isn't really about you either, it's all about your mother."

Mandy hesitated. "Yeah...it is. I wish he would just get over her already. He's so obsessed with her."

Monica frowned in disgust. "Unfortunately he is. Do you think there's anything that would change his mind about all this?"

"I don't know."

"Come on, there has to be something! If anything or anyone could change his mind or get him to stop what he's doing, it's your mother."

"She's dead you moron!"

"I know that!" Monica hissed. "Did she leave him anything? That survived the fire?"

"Uh...um...wait! Yes! Yes she did!" Mandy squealed excitedly.

"What is it?"

"At her grave, she had two letters buried on either side of it. The one on the left was for Gabriel, the one on the right was for Danny. I know this because a few days before the fire, my mom was really scared for some reason. She didn't tell me at the time but I think it was a threat of some sort from him, so she was possibly writing him a letter to try and appease him? Maybe, I don't know. 

What I do know though, is that she didn't get to send it before the fire, but we're really lucky it survived! And apparently, I think that with all the threats from Gabriel, she wrote her will early. So that's why the letters she wrote to Danny and Gabriel are buried on either side of her grave.  Danny took me to visit mom's grave a few times and he found his letter. I knew there was another one there, but he wouldn't tell me anything about it, other than to just leave it alone."

"Why didn't you say something before?"

"I WAS SCARED. And not to mention the fact that I was distracted with Gabriel trying to turn me into a miniature version of my mom!"

"Alright, alright, relax."

"So what's the plan then?"

"How about...oh I've got it! Tomorrow morning, start crying, like really crying like you're heartbroken. When he asks, you plead to visit your mother's grave one last time before staying with him forever. Once you get there, pretend to find the letter like you didn't know about it before. I can only hope that whatever she wrote will change him."

"The crying won't be hard...I do miss her..." Mandy said quietly, and gladly received the hug from Monica.

The next morning, Mandy and Monica woke up quite early as they had planned. Monica went to start making breakfast while Mandy stayed in the tent and simply thought about her mother, and her father too. Before she knew it, she was crying her heart out. It didn't take Gabriel very long to wake up and rush to her tent.

Gabriel went over immediately and got inside the tent beside her and hugged her. "What's wrong sweetie?" He asked gently.

Though she was still repulsed by him and his awful morning breath she reluctantly hugged him back and cried harder.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"I miss my mom!" She sobbed, letting go and trying to wipe away her tears.

His concern turned to sadness, then irritation. "You think I don't? What do you think you're here for?''

Mandy whimpered. "Please, please, let me visit her grave ONE more time before I stay with you forever! PLEASE!" She begged, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. "Just let me visit her grave one last time, and then I'll stay with you forever. Just like you want, I'll be just like her."

He sighed, thinking about it. "Will you cooperate a lot more than I expect? And you'll do whatever I say when I say it?"

"Yes, yes! Whatever you want! I'll be just how you want me to be."

"Fine. It's good that we're up early. There's less of a chance of anyone catching us."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

At the graveyard, Mandy sat next to Gabriel and cried silently at her mother's grave. She said nothing but just cried. She missed her mother so much, and she'd died young. She cried into her hands for another moment or so people peeking through her fingers and seeing that Gabriel was getting teary eyed too. Suddenly, she noticed a little corner of paper sticking out of the ground. It was his letter! As she to stop her crying, she pulled on it as Gabriel watched her. She pulled out an index card with someone's scribble hand writing.

"To...Gabriel?"

He snatched it from her. "Blasted thing is blank. Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Mandy shrugged and sniffled. "Maybe there's something under it?" She guessed, then dug a little and pulled out a slightly dirty envelope with his name on it.

He grabbed it from her and tore it open, and once he started reading, Mandy backed up a little just in case, unsure of how he'd react.

_Dear Gabriel,_

_I know you are very angry with me because I married someone else, but I can't help how I feel. I still like you as a friend, I still care and I always will. Remember all the good times we had? Remember when we'd go out to our favorite ice cream shop? Remember how we'd just hang out with your brother and all our friends? Can you please stop being bitter? You're missing out on so many other good things in life by staying mad at me and focusing on my marrying Steve. Please, stop the threats and please leave my family alone. I know you've wondered why, why I don't love you. It's because you abused me, and you hurt me._

_A person can only take abuse for so long, and I couldn't take it anymore. If you wanted me to stay, then you should have treated me differently. I forgive you though, I forgive you Gabriel. I'm not mad at you, I'm really not please believe that. Steve, the man I married, is the one I love and it always will be. I can't explain how my heart works Gabriel, just how it feels. You're heartbroken and angry right now, and I can understand that. With a broken heart though, it's better to leave it broken then hurt yourself trying to fix it._

_I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you'll get help, because you need it desperately. If you still love me, you'll do this. I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted. I hope you can find a special someone of your own someday, and I hope we can one day be friends. And before I end this letter, there's one more thing I want you to know before I end this letter. I still care about you, I hope you know that._

_From, Anastasia_

Mandy watched as he read the letter, and her heart broke with pity as she watched him break down and start outright bawling. She waited a few feet behind him with Monica for a few minutes until he had calmed down some. Then slowly, and carefully, she went over and sat next to him again but this time she put a hand on his shoulder. She was still upset with him for everything that he'd done, and she still had not forgiven him. Still though, she felt sorry for the man and could see that this could be the turning point in his life.

She could see that hopefully whatever her mom had written would change his mind, and even his heart. She wanted to say something, to comfort him and help him somehow, to get him started on the right track. She was silent for a minute, but then it finally came to her. She moved her hand from his shoulder and started to sing.

                                                               "Who knows when love begins?

                                                               Who knows what makes it start?

                                                                    One day it's simply there

                                                                     Alive inside your heart

                                                                  It slips into your thoughts

                                                                     It infiltrates your soul

                                                                     It takes you by surprise

                                                                    Then seizes full control

                                                                           Try to deny it

                                                                        And try to resist

                                                               But love won't let you go

                                                          Once you've been possessed

                                                                     Love never dies

                                                                   Love never falters

                                                                 Once it has spoken

                                                                     Love is yours

                                                                 Love never fades

                                                                Love never alters

                                                            Hearts may get broken

                                                                  Love endures

                                                            Hearts may get broken

                                                                   Love endures

                                                         And soon as you submit

                                                        Surrender flesh and bone

                                                         That love takes on a life

                                                     Much bigger than your own

                                                         It uses you at whim

                                                    And drives you to despair

                                                      And forces you to feel

                                                  More joy than you can bear

                                                   Love gives you pleasure

                                                And love brings you pain

                                                And yet when both are gone

                                                    Love will still remain

                                                     Once it has spoken

                                                         Love is yours

                                                      Love never dies

                                                    Love never alters

                                              Hearts may get broken

                                                     Love endures

                                              Hearts may get broken

                                                  Love never dies

                                                Love will continue

                                            Love keeps on beating

                                               When you're gone

                                                Love never dies

                                                Once it is in you

                                             Life may be fleeting

                                                  Love lives on

                                            Life may be fleeting

                                               Love lives on."


	18. Brother (Captured pt.3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel and Danny are reunited in the worst of circumstances

By the time Mandy had finished her song, she could have sworn Gabriel was crying. He turned away from her and started walking off, but not far enough that Monica and Mandy could get away. While he walked off, he read the letter again and broke down. Thankfully he'd managed to keep his tears at bay, but now that he was alone the floodgates opened.Guilt, regret, and love washed over him. He missed her so much, and he always would.

Then he looked back at Mandy, who was standing at the grave waiting for him. Horror filled his heart as he truly realized what he'd just done recently, and what he'd done over the years. And appropriately, it had started raining. Years of anger, bitterness, and awful things he'd done flooded his memories. He remembered yelling at Anastasia for not doing what he wanted her to do, he remembered hitting her, hurting her and watching her run off crying.

He remembered the trouble he'd gotten in college, both from the school itself and the people there who'd heard what happened and given him hell for it. He remembered his brother Danny trying to talk to him, trying to get him to stop, to think things through and stop before things got worse. Unfortunately for him he didn't listen to his older brother's words for it, and faced the consequences now.

His shoulders shook with hard, silent sobs as he realized that he'd wasted so much of his life on something so stupid. He'd wasted years of his life, over a woman. A woman he loved deeply, a woman who was his first true love. He realized that he'd missed out on friends, fun, happiness, and opportunities. He'd robbed, robbed himself of such a good life!

He could have worked harder in college, gotten his master's degree, and been a happier, healthier man! When he wasn't thinking about Anastasia or planning his revenge, he drowned out his sorrows in alcohol, drugs, television, and other minor small crimes that gave him that addictive rush of adrenalin. And after meticulously planning the death of the woman who he used to love, he'd killed her and the man she'd married, and it had gone out perfectly, exactly how he wanted it to. He glared at himself, his sorrow and regret quickly turning into anger and self hatred. If he'd actually loved her, he would have let her live. If he'd actually cared for her, he would have let her break up with him peacefully and been friends with her afterwards. The truth was, he did love and care for her, but he was more obsessed with her than anything. Obsessed with her beauty, with her charm, with making her the perfect wife for himself without giving half a thought to what she wanted.

His goal was to kill Anastasia and Steve, burn the house down and be done with the Hendricks family for good. However, he'd forgotten that they'd had a child. He'd actually known about Mandy long before he tried to kill her, and if he'd remembered her in the few days before the fire then he would have postponed it so she'd die as well. He had been shocked to find out that they'd had a child, and had met her when she was just six years old.

Gabriel had been at the grocery store, just walking to one of the lines, only here to pick up some beer and wine when someone bumped into him from behind. He turned with a glare. "Watch it!" He snapped.

A little girl stood behind him, looking to be about six years old. She had brown eyes, her hair up in pigtails, and wore a navy plaid skirt with a light blue polo shirt, a navy plaid vest and black buckled shoes with lacy white socks. She frowned at what he said. "Sorry mister!" She said quickly, and then hid behind her mother's skirt.

"Sorry about that." Her mother chuckled. "We're going to a birthday party after this, we just had to pick up the snacks, so she's very excited. Aren't you?"

The little girl peeked out and nodded. "Uh-huh!"

Gabriel had been distracted by the child, but now looked up at her mother. He gasped when he realized who it was. "Anastasia? Is that you?"

Anastasia stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" She asked.

He didn't say a word. Quite frankly, he couldn't.

Her eyes widened as she recognized him. "Gabriel?"

He nodded.

She beamed. "Oh my goodness! It's been so long! How are you?" She asked, seeming like her usual happy self on the outside, but inside she was terrified and simply wanted to avoid making him angry. Unfortunately for her, he was already upset.

"How am I? HOW AM I? Is that even a question?!?!" He growled. "I am heartbroken, angry, and devastated all because of what you did to me! So don't you dare act like nothing is wrong and we're good friends."

She nodded, but thought it best not to say anything.

The little girl had come out from behind her mother's skirt and now stood with her arms at her sides, fists clenched. "STOP BEING A MEANIE TO MY MOMMY!" She screamed, stomping her little foot.

Most people turned to stare for a moment before going back to their shopping, while Anastasia shushed her and told her to be quiet.

Gabriel stared at the little girl, surprised at her outburst. "And now you've had a child? A child?!?!?!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her so her face was inches away from his. "I was mad at you before, but now...now I'm furious. You had better watch yourself, because I will get you Anastasia. I will get you for everything you've done to me."

"HEY!"

The three turned to see Steve running towards the scene, a bag of chips in his hand. He threw it into the cart and shoved Gabriel away. "Stay away from her!" He warned. "Wait a second...Gabriel?"

"Steve."

Steve had brown eyes, black spikey hair, and wore a navy polo shirt and faded jeans. "One more incident like that, and I'll get a restraining order." He threatened as he picked up his daughter.

"I didn't do anything."

"You were about to. Just stay away from me and my family, and I won't get the restraining order. Simple as that."

Gabriel glared at him, wanting to punch the guy's teeth in, but thought better of it and simply stalked away.

The days after their little run in were a drunken blur, and once he'd finally become sober, he was angrier and more dangerous than ever. His little crimes to occupy himself between making his plan weren't so little anymore. He never got caught though, he made sure of that. It took him a while to learn how to completely cover all possible evidence, but thankfully as he was learning no one caught onto him. Finally, the day had come to kill the Hendricks family. That day he'd been so focused on killing mainly Anastasia, but also Steve, that he'd forgotten they'd had a daughter entirely.

And so after the fire, when he was browsing through the town's security footage he'd hacked into, with forced help from some nerd who he'd later killed, he found out that two days after the fire some girl was running for her life from a car. He watched with interest as she ran and ran, then finally collapsed at his brother's group home. He frowned as he zoomed in, watching as his brother came to talk to the men from the car.

"Sir, are you Daniel Evans?" One of the men asked.

His brother nodded. "Call me Danny. What happened? Who is she?"

The man pulled out his ID. "I'm Darren Maxwell, with the Department of Child Services. Her name is Amanda Hendricks, fifteen years old. No more than two days ago her house burned down with her parents in it while she'd been staying with a friend overnight. With no other relatives close by, and the distant ones not wanting anything to do with her, we were trying to find her somewhere to stay. Today we were going to put her into foster care and had found her a good family this morning, when she suddenly ran off. Can't say I'm surprised, with cases like this the child is bound to react this way."

Gabriel hit himself on the head and swore, unable to believe that he'd forgotten to kill their daughter. Anger rose it's ugly head again, but he pushed it down. He wasn't really sure what to do with her, since she'd never done anything to him. So for a while, he didn't do anything. It wasn't until she'd gone and done some research, tracing her parents death back to him, that he'd decided he'd kill her too. Unfortunately, she was rescued and managed to survive. After that incident, he took a couple of days to think of what else he could do with her since his brother and authorities were on high alert for him now.

Then, it came to him. He'd kidnap her and make her the new, and improved, Anastasia! She was a spitting image of the woman, save for her eyes of course but he didn't care. He'd gotten another chance!

Gabriel shook his head, trying to get out of his thoughts and stop the flashbacks from the far past and from the last few days. He teared up again, but he blinked them away. "Okay, so I'm a horrible person, what am I supposed to do now?" He asked himself quietly. "I've done a lot of terrible things I know. Someone tell me what to do..." He sighed and let his tears fall once again.

"I think you know what to do, you don't need someone else to tell you."

He looked back and saw Monica standing there, soaked to the bone and her glasses folded up and hung on her shirt. "What are you doing here?"

"I wasn't going to leave you here alone, and neither was Mandy."

"That's just because I've got the car keys." He muttered.

Monica smiled sadly. "Maybe that Mandy's reason, but that's not my reason. I didn't want you to have to suffer alone."

He stared at her, bewildered. "Why? Why? After all I've done to you, why do you care even the slightest bit?"

"Because I think that deep down in there somewhere, is a good man. I've always felt that way...that's why I've stayed for so long and not tried to escape hardly at all."

He turned away at her words, more tears falling.

She watched him for a moment before she asked, "Are you crying?"

He looked back at her and shook his head. "I'm not crying, it's just raining on my face."

She chuckled and much to his surprise, planted a kiss on his forehead. "You know what you should do, but it's up to you. So, what do we do now?"

"Let's get back to the cave. Come on."

As they walked back toward Mandy, he double checked to make sure he still had the letter in his pocket. He waved her towards the car, slightly smirking at how messed up her makeup had gotten from the rain. Monica drove them back to the cave in silence. Once they'd gotten back, things were still quiet and both girls wondered what would happen to them now.

Gabriel knew they were waiting for him to say something.

So he did.

"Pack up. Mandy, you're leaving. Monica, you are too." He said quietly.

"How do we get back though?" Mandy asked.

Gabriel sighed and poked at the fire he was currently trying to light. "Get out of the forest and take a right, go straight and then take a left. That'll get you on the main road. Monica should know the way from there. Take the car." He took the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to her. "And don't worry, it's not stolen so if the cops see you in it you won't be in any trouble. Hurry up and leave before I change my mind."

The girls went back to their tent, and once they'd made sure they were out of hearing distance, they had a silent scream fest, dancing and laughing quietly.

Mandy suddenly hugged Monica. "What did you say to him?" She asked.

Monica smiled. "More like what did you say to him! That letter, the song-"

"Whatever it was that you said!"

She broke the hug. "Yes, that too. Still though, what matters now is getting out of here! Come on, we've got to hurry!"

Within a few minutes they were packed up and walked towards the cave's entrance, suitcases in hand and their hopes high. They looked back at Gabriel one last time before leaving and getting back in the car. Mandy beamed and sighed with relief as the car's engine rumbled to life. They were finally free.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you think we should have left him there?" Mandy asked as they turned onto the main road. "Shouldn't we have forced him to come with us?"

Monica switched lanes before answering. "No, because I think he's had a change of heart. Besides, what harm can he do now? He's got food, water, clothes, and shelter so he should be fine. There's no one around that area, so he can't hurt anyone."

"What if he starts a forest fire?"

"There'd be no point to that, and I've known Gabriel long enough to know that he doesn't commit a crime without a reason. Most of his other smaller crimes he committed were for that rush of adrenalin, or because he was bored. If you think he'll start a fire because he's bored, you're right he might do that but it won't be easy. I took the lighter fluid and matches with me so if he wants to burn something he has to use sticks or rocks to get the flame going."

"Smart move. So what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said that you lost your job before Gabriel forced you to stay with him. You said you used to work at a coffee shop right?"

"Yeah, I did. I don't know what I'm going to do now honestly. Maybe get a job as a secretary or something."

Mandy grimaced. "Ugh, seriously? I heard being a secretary is really boring, and it would probably be just like being a personal assistant except you do more paperwork and such than getting things for your boss."

"True, true. Though the boring part really just depends how you look at the job and who you're working for. I'll have to see who's hiring." Monica said. "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm only fifteen, and it's still summer so I haven't found a job yet. I don't know if I will get one, what with school coming up and everything."

"You said you lived in that group home right? What was it called? Evan's home?"

"Evan's House for Everyone."

"Right, well we're almost in town and should be there in a few minutes. How about you come with me to my apartment to get a nice hot shower, dry clothes and some food before I take you back?"

"That sounds amazing, thank you."

Monica grinned as they pulled into town. "Hey, it's no problem and it's the least I can do for the girl who finally helped me escape! While you're there you can call-"

Mandy gasped.

"What is it?" Monica asked worriedly as they turned a corner.

"When...when Gabriel burned down the house...they tried to save me. Are they alright? I don't remember anything that happened past me running away as the house burned down and then me passing out."

Monica didn't answer her question for a few minutes as they drove up to her place and it wasn't until they were parked that she answered. "As far as I know, there was a bit of damage but then again I'm not exactly sure. I didn't see the whole thing and I was in the car waiting for you and Gabriel." She explained. "Don't worry though, I'm sure they'll be fine."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriel sat in the cave, watching the fire as it crackled and slowly ate up the wood. He glanced out the entrance, watching the rain for a moment before turning back to the fire. He'd read the letter from Anastasia a few times, and each time he did it made him further regret every terrible thing he'd done and made him even more angry at himself.

_Dear Gabriel,_

_I know you are very angry with me because I married someone else, but I can't help how I feel. I still like you as a friend, I still care and I always will. Remember all the good times we had? Remember when we'd go out to our favorite ice cream shop? Remember how we'd just hang out with your brother and all our friends? Can you please stop being bitter? You're missing out on so many other good things in life by staying mad at me and focusing on my marrying Steve. Please, stop the threats and please leave my family alone. I know you've wondered why, why I don't love you. It's because you abused me, and you hurt me._

_A person can only take abuse for so long, and I couldn't take it anymore. If you wanted me to stay, then you should have treated me differently. I forgive you though, I forgive you Gabriel. I'm not mad at you, I'm really not please believe that. Steve, the man I married, is the one I love and it always will be. I can't explain how my heart works Gabriel, just how it feels. You're heartbroken and angry right now, and I can understand that. With a broken heart though, it's better to leave it broken then hurt yourself trying to fix it._

_I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you'll get help, because you need it desperately. If you still love me, you'll do this. I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted. I hope you can find a special someone of your own someday, and I hope we can one day be friends. And before I end this letter, there's one more thing I want you to know before I end this letter. I still care about you, I hope you know that._

_From, Anastasia_

He had a sudden urge to throw the letter into the fire, but he thought better of it and put it back in his pocket. "She didn't love me because I hurt her. I HURT her!" He said, talking to himself. "How could I have done that?!?! What kind of monster am I?!?! And after all I did to her...after all I did...she forgave me." He teared up for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "She FORGAVE me!  And she still CARED about me! WHY? WHY? I DIDN'T DESERVE IT ANASTASIA!" He shouted.

Gabriel sighed and blinked back his tears. "Look at me, talking to myself like a crazy person and crying like a stupid baby." He rubbed his temples. "I can't promise you I'll get help Anastasia...because I think it's too late. It's too late for me. I've killed people, burned them, you and your husband, tried to kill your daughter, stolen things, kidnapped Monica, and various other crimes. I've wasted away my life on being an anger driven mad man. There's no redemption, there's no hope for me."

He glanced over at his tent, both worried and yet hopeful. "There's only one thing left for me, and now seems like a better time than any to do it."

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Mandy stood in the bathroom mirror, having just gotten dressed after a heavenly warm shower. She wore a superman t-shirt, dark jeans, red sneakers, and a red cap with a black bill. When Gabriel had kidnapped her, she hadn't gotten ready for bed yet so she was still in that day's outfit. Her hair however, was no longer ironed since it had gotten wet, so it had gone back to it's wild curly self. She put up her hair into a pony tail and put the cap on as she came out of the bathroom, greeted by a delicious smell.

"Mmm! Something smells amazing!" She moaned. "I'm so hungry!"

Monica wore a t-shirt and sweatpants and put her washed hair up in a messy bun. She grabbed the plates from the cabinets. "I'm glad you are, and I hope you like chicken parmesan!"

"Ooh that sounds great!"

They got their food and ate it in front of the TV, watching some AFV.

Monica chuckled as they saw a video of a fat dog getting stuck in a fence. "Oh hey, sorry I took so long with the food. It's not that quick to make, I had to dust off some things off too, but I really missed cooking and wasn't really in the mood for takeout."

Mandy shrugged. "Nah, I don't mind. Besides, this is way better than takeout! You're a really good cook!"

"Thanks, it's easy really. Oh hey, have you called your family and friends yet?"

Mandy gasped. "No I haven't! I'm going to do that now, thanks for reminding me!"

Monica nodded. "I'll be watching TV in my room if you need me, so you can have your privacy out here."

"Thanks."

As soon as Monica left, Mandy grabbed her phone from her bag and turned it on. It still had half of it's battery left, thank goodness. She unlocked it and called the first person that came to mind. Emily.

"M-Mandy?"

"Emily! Em, it's me!"

"Where are you?!? Are you okay?!? What happened?!?"

"I'm safe, don't worry. And I'll tell you what happened after you tell me what happened to you and if you're alright! I remember you were fighting for me before I got knocked out!"

Emily sighed. "Of course I was! You're my best friend! Anyway, when I woke up in the hospital-"

"HOSPITAL?!?!"

"Amanda I'm fine! I just got a minor concussion!"

"Oh my word...I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be, it's fine."

"No it's not fine! You and other people got hurt because of me!"

"Don't you dare start blaming yourself or so help me-"

"Okay, okay! I won't Em, I won't."

"Good, now it's your turn to tell me what happened when you woke up."

It took a while, but Mandy soon filled Emily in on everything that had happened. When she was done, her friend was so quiet she thought that she'd hung up.

"Em? You there?"

"Huh? Yeah I'm still here. Wow...I mean just...wow. I'm really happy he let you go though and that the authorities didn't have to come get you! And it was really nice of Monica to have you over."

"Yeah, she's nice."

"So have you called Danny or any of the others?"

Mandy gasped. "No, not yet! I've been busy talking to you."

"Well go! Call them! Go back home girl!" Emily exclaimed.

Mandy chuckled. "I will, I will. Talk to you soon Em, love you."

"Love you too! Bye!"

"Bye!"

After hanging up Mandy went and knocked on Monica's door.

"Come in!"

Mandy smiled. "Hey, thanks for letting me stay with you but I should go now."

Monica got up and gave her a hug. "It was good having you, and thank you for helping me with Gabriel. Promise me you'll visit sometime?"

"Sure!"

"Do you need a ride?"

"No thanks, I'll be fine. It's only two blocks away."

"Alright, then. Bye Mandy!"

"Bye Monica!"

Dragging her large overstuffed rolling suitcase behind her, Mandy watched as several police cars sped by. With a small smile, she continued on her way home.

  
\-------------------------------------------------

Justin and Sam leaned against the front window of a nearby clothing store, panting. They'd been allowed to go out and look for Mandy on their own as long as they were responsible and kept their phones on them. While they were looking in this part of town, near the group home, Danny and Jason looked for her on the other side.

"Two days. Two days she's been gone  since we almost got her back and we've had no progress! None WHATSOEVER!" Sam fumed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"I swear she'd better not be hurt! Or else I'll kick his ***!" Justin grumbled.

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"What? Danny and Stephanie aren't here."

She shrugged, then chuckled. "Whoa...I must be delirious or something."

He looked around. "What? Why?"

"Because I could have sworn I saw Mandy on the side walk across from us."

"Where?"

"There! See? That girl looks just like her!"

"OH MY WORD SAM THAT IS HER!" Justin shouted, bolting off with her chasing after him. They darted across the crosswalk and ran after her.

"MANDY! MANDY!" They shouted.

Stopping and turning around, Mandy shrieked happily and ran towards them. When they'd caught up to each other, they just stood there in shock before she grabbed Justin and started kissing him.

Sam gagged. "Get a room you two!"

Laughing, Mandy hugged her tightly.

"Danny's been worried sick about you! Stephanie's been crying a lot!" Sam explained. "And she's in the hospital!"

"Aw, I've missed them and the rest of you so much! Wait...WHAT?!? She's in the HOSPITAL?!?"

Justin sighed. "Yes, but we'll let Danny tell you about that when we get home. I just texted him that we found you, so he'll go pick up Billy and Charlie from our neighbor's house then meet us there." He explained. "Oh good, the bus is here! Come on!"

As they rode home, Mandy told Sam and Justin everything that had happened since they'd almost managed to recue her. When they told her that they'd all had been in the hospital because of the fight, she hugged the two of them and nearly cried.

"I'm so sorry! This is all my fault..." She sniffled.

Justin kissed her cheek. "Hey, none of that. It's not your fault at all, okay?"

Sam put a hand on her shoulder. "And you're worth getting a few bumps and bruises."

Mandy smiled. "Thanks you guys." She started at Justin. "Wow, I'm really glad that you're being so open about your appearance now!"

Justin had his hair out of his face, and today he wore a black t-shirt and jeans. He grinned at her comment. "Thanks to you!"

Sam frowned. "I'm all for you being more confident in yourself Justin, but I'm going to ask you two to stop before you start making out again."

They just laughed, and a few minutes later they finally returned home.

Mandy jumped off the bus and bolted for the front door, Justin and Sam following and bringing her luggage. She knocked on the door eagerly and in seconds it opened. Danny stood there, tired looking but shocked nonetheless. He simply stared at her for a moment before beaming and wrapping her into the biggest, warmest bear hug she'd ever received.

He laughed and spun her around as he held her. "Oh my goodness, sweetheart, I've missed you so much!" He said, putting her down and kissing her forehead.

Mandy giggled and kissed his cheek. "I've missed you a lot too!" She hugged him again. "I love you!"

"I love you too!"

She looked up at him. "What happened with Stephanie? Justin and Sam told me that everyone got hurt, but they told me you'd tell me about Stephanie. Is she seriously hurt?"

Danny hesitated, not wanting to tell her. She'd just gotten home and was so happy, and he really didn't want to make her upset again so soon. Thankfully though, Billy, Charlie, and Jason came running in at that exact moment, saving him from having to answer her for now.

"MANDY!" The kids screamed, running towards her and hugging her legs.

Mandy laughed and knelt down to hug them properly. "Hi guys! Did you have fun at the neighbor's house?"

"Yeah! We played with our friends and watched movies!" Charlie said.

"Aw, good! I'm glad you did!"

Billy giggled. "Being home is lots more fun!"

Jason cleared his throat.

Mandy stood and hugged him tightly. "Jason, oh man, Jason...big brother." She whispered. "I love you so much. I've missed you."

He chuckled. "Lynn, little sister, I've missed you too! I'm so glad you're safe and alright." He broke the hug and playfully ruffled her hair. "I love you too."

Once Mandy had gotten settled and unpacked, Danny and Jason came into her room to find out what had happened since they'd tried to rescue. She wanted to tell them both at the same time to save herself from having to repeat it so much, since she wasn't really a big fan of talking about it.

"And that's it, that's everything." She said with a sigh.

Danny frowned. "He just told you to pack up, take the car, and leave?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he did. He seemed really heartbroken though about what my mom wrote to him. I don't know what the letter said, but to be honest I'm kind of worried about him."

Jason scoffed. "What really? He's the guy who kidnapped you, hurt you, and forced you to parade around as your mother!"

Mandy rolled her eyes. "I know! He's still a person though. Don't worry Danny, he was left there with plenty of food water, and he's got plenty of shelter in the cave so he's fine physically."

Danny rubbed his temples. "Emotionally, I think he's very hurt right now. Hurt and confused, and mentally I don't know. He's always been slightly autistic...."

Mandy frowned. "Oh, that's right I forgot...I'm sorry. Do you think he'll be okay? I mean...I don't want to be a downer or anything else like that, but...what if he hurts himself?"

Danny's eyes widened and without another word he ran out of the room.

"Wait!" Mandy called after him. "What happened to Stephanie?"

He poked his head back in the door. "She's got a broken rib! Jason you drive her so she can visit, leave Justin and Sam in charge!" He said quickly before running off again.

Mandy just stared at the door and then at Jason before tearing up and being hugged by him.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriel sobbed as his hand trembled over his arm, holding a sharp dagger. _'I can't do this. I_ _can't live_ _with_ _myself_ _anymore. I don't deserve to live. I deserve to die after all I've done_.' He brought the blade close to his skin. _'The world will be a much better place with out crazy old me. That's right Gabriel, you freak! You've killed people! You killed the woman you loved! That's just one little thing next to all the other crimes you've committed on the list! You HAVE to kill yourself...it's the only way to balance it out and to let everyone else have justice. You're getting exactly what you deserve.'_

He groaned as he forced the blade to pierce his skin and cut down his arm to his wrist. He dropped the dagger and cried as the pain filled his body and watched the blood flow out in its horrifying redness. He had procrastinated this moment for a while, and he almost gave up on it, but he didn't because he knew that he would spend the rest of his life hating himself, and he just wanted it all to be over.

His tears fell from his eyes and onto the cut, making it sting like fire. Suddenly, he heard a car driving by, sounding as if it were speeding. He watched in shock as the car drove through the forest and pulled up right in front of the entrance. Danny got out and ran towards him, a large first aid kit in hand.

"GABRIEL!" He shouted.

Gabriel looked up at him, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Don't bother Danny...just let me die."

Danny ignored him and opened the first aid kit, grabbed some gauze and two ace bandages and tried to stop the bleeding. He put the disinfecting gauze all along the cut first, which made Gabriel hiss at the sting. 

"Stinging serves you right for trying to kill yourself." Danny muttered angrily. "I can't believe you'd do something like this again! It's been years brother! Years!" He scolded, wrapping the ace bandages around the wound to make sure that the blood wouldn't escape and that it would hopefully clot and stop until they got to the hospital. "This only happened once before in high school, and that's because you kept listening to those voices in your head telling you to hurt yourself! You had Miss Melissa helping you, and you took your pills too but you listened to them anyway! You're lucky Pa caught you before you did anything!"

Gabriel didn't say anything, he simply continued to cry, silently.

"What have you been told about the voices in your head?" Danny asked, finishing bandaging up his arm.

"Not to listen to them." His little brother croaked.

"And you got them talking didn't you? You started it by beating yourself up, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh..."

Danny pulled him into a hug. "Don't listen to them, and don't make them start talking little brother." He said, his tone no longer angry but very sad and hurt. "Please."

Gabriel nodded.

"Come on, we've got to get you to the hospital."

They drove to the hospital quickly, where the doctors rushed Gabriel inside and fixed him up quickly. They disinfected and stitched up the cut, which thankfully wasn't too deep. He'd heal and he was required to take some medication and was assigned to stay with a psychiatrist after his mental past was explained to the doctors. Finally, everything was arranged and the doctors had left to go finish up the last bit of paperwork, and that left the two brothers alone in the room.

Danny sighed. "Why did you do it?" He asked sadly.

Gabriel didn't say anything. He just pulled out the letter and gave it to him.

Danny read over it and shook his head. He handed it back to him.

"It...it made me realize everything I'd done...what she wrote." Gabriel said. "I've stolen things, sped while driving, hurt myself with alcohol and illegal drugs, I've kidnapped people, killed them...I...I deserve to die." He whispered, tears falling again as he sat down on the floor and put his face in his knees.

Danny knelt down next to him and used a hand to gently force his little brother to look at him. "Gabriel, I want you to listen to me. Listen to me very carefully, alright?"

Gabriel nodded.

"You do not deserve to die, you do not deserve to die at all."

"But-"

"No matter what you have done, you don't deserve to die and you hurting yourself isn't the way to fix things little brother."

"All...all I wanted was to fix everything. Everyone would be better off if I was dead..."

Danny clicked his tongue. "Now you know that isn't true. Ma, Pa, and me wouldn't be! We'd miss you, and we have missed you. And we love you! I love you."

Gabriel's face crumpled when he said that, so Danny sat down next to him and put an arm around him, letting him cry it out.

"It's gonna be okay Gabe...it's all going to be okay." He whispered. "You're twenty seven, and I'm twenty nine. You've still got your whole life ahead you and so do I! You can make it past this, and you can fix everything! All you have to do is go and stay with the psychiatrist until you get the word that you're allowed to leave and keep taking your medicine. I'll come and visit you while you're there, alright?"

Gabriel had stopped crying, and it looked as if he didn't have any tears left. "Alright. Thank you, big brother."

"Anything for you little brother."

"Hey Danny?"

"Yes?"

"I...I think...no...I know I wanna...I wanna turn myself into the police. After I'm done with the psychiatrist I wanna turn myself in."

Danny smiled. "That's good! See? You're already off to a good start!"

Gabriel couldn't help but smile back, just a little bit. "You'll still come and visit?"

"Of course."

"Hey Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Even though it's not really a manly thing to say, I love you."

Danny chuckled. "I love you too."


	19. The Road to Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel tries to make things right.

Mandy knocked on the hospital room door and slowly opened it when someone called her inside. She peeked in and saw Stephanie laying in the hospital bed, having just woken up.

"Stephanie?"

Stephanie adjusted the bed so she was reclining instead of lying down. "Sam? Is that you?"

Mandy came inside and shut the door behind her, tearing up at just the sight of seeing the woman who took care of her, who was always so strong, who loved her like she was her own daughter, in the hospital. As she walked up to the bed, it occurred to her that Danny may not have even told her that she'd been found. "No, it's me. Mandy."

Stephanie gasped. "Oh, honey! You're...it's..." She teared up, blinking back her tears.

Mandy smiled a little. "Yeah, it's me. I'm here and I'm safe." She said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her.

Stephanie grabbed her hand. "When did you get back? What happened?"

"Just today actually, around this afternoon. Gabriel let me go."

"Why did he do that?"

"My mother had a written him a letter before he killed her...I think he was threatening her before. I don't think she knew he'd kill her and dad, but she knew something dangerous would happen. So she wrote him a letter, and apparently wrote her will early too because she was so scared. If she hadn't, then the two letters she wrote to Danny and Gabriel wouldn't have been buried on either side of her grave. I've gone to visit her grave before, as you know, and that's when Danny found his letter.

It took me a while, because I was so scared and I was always being dragged everywhere, but I finally remembered that he had a letter too! So we went to my mom's grave, he read the letter, and once we got back to the cave he let us go."

"Cave? What cave?"

Mandy sighed. "I've repeated the story enough, I don't want to repeat it again."

Stephanie gave her hand a squeeze. "That's alright, I understand."

"The story I want to hear though, is what happened to you! Danny said you broke a rib?"

"Yes, I did. It was when we caught up to you back at that house, remember? We all fought, fought to save you, but he got away."

Mandy's lip trembled.

Stephanie sighed. "Now, don't start crying, please. It happened, and it's over. Don't say you feel sorry for me because there's no need to be. I wanted to protect you, we wanted to protect you. Because you are part of our family, because we love you. So don't cry about it, because I'm sure you've cried enough already, and we all have. Alright?"

"Alright."

"Good."

A doctor came in with a clipboard and a friendly smile on his face. "Ah, Stephanie Evans, how are you feeling this evening?"

Stephanie chuckled. "Awful. I just checked in here a few days ago."

"So not any better than yesterday?"

"No, not really. Mandy, this is Doctor Samson."

Mandy nodded. "Hi."

"Hello! Sorry to tell you this but I've got to check on her rib and get her bandages changed. I'll need you to step out for a bit."

"Okay. Um, how long will she be in here?"

"Just about six weeks I'm afraid, but she'll be fine. Now if you'll excuse us?"

"Alright, see you soon Stephanie!"

"You too dear!"

Mandy walked out of the room and down the hall to go and find Jason, when she suddenly bumped into someone, or rather two people.

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriel and Danny walked from the room towards the front desk, deciding to go and check at the front desk to see if the paperwork was finally finished so Gabriel could be assigned to his psychiatrist and get the medication the doctor's had prescribed.

"Some things never change." Gabriel remarked.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked.

"It's just like when we were kids. The wait for the doctor is just as long as it used to be."

They laughed.

"Hey, do you mind if I just pop in and check on my wife real quick? She's just in here, room 205." Danny said.

His younger brother shrugged. "Yeah, go ahead. I'll wait out here."

"You sure you don't want to come in?"

"What for?"

"Oh, maybe apologize for breaking her rib and beating up her children. You did say you wanted to fix things, and apologies are a good place to start." Danny said, attempting to sound nonchalant, but a little irritation had slipped into his voice.

Gabriel gulped. "A-alright..."

Just as they were about to go inside, the door opened and someone bumped into Mandy.

Danny smiled sadly. "Hey Mandy, are you okay? I know seeing Stephanie like that must have been tough."

She nodded. "It was but...Gabriel?"

Gabriel cleared his throat. "Uh, hi."

Mandy scowled. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer, but simply lifted his sleeve and showed the bandage.

Mandy scoffed, but kept from commenting.

Gabriel sighed. "I'm here to fix things, fix what I can how I can." He explained. "And one of the things I'm going to do to fix things, is apologize."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Mandy, I'm sorry. I've done so many...so many wrong things to you and your family and their unforgivable."

Mandy huffed. "That's right, that is completely right. What you did was completely unforgivable. And you can apologize all you want, but you know that's not going to do anything."

"I killed your mother and father...I-I tried to kill you, I hurt your family..." He looked at Danny, who nodded to tell him to keep going. "I kidnapped you and hurt you...and I'm sorry...I'm so-"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Mandy cried, stomping her foot. "YOU CAN SAY YOUR SORRY BUT IT WON'T DO ANYTHING!" She sobbed and wiped away stray tears. "ALL IT'S GOING TO DO IS HURT ME MORE! IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, YOU GO RIGHT AHEAD! GO RIGHT AHEAD!"

"Mandy, quiet down!" Danny whispered.

Gabriel looked pained. "Mandy-"

"NO! NO! JUST GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE, FOREVER!" She yelled, then quieted down slightly when she saw Danny glaring at her. "You've _done_   your bit here, you've _apologized_   to me so cross that off your _stupid fix it list!_ Go and apologize to someone else or go try and _fix_   whatever else is next!" She sobbed, and before anyone could say anything else, she ran off.

Gabriel's expression of pain turned to one of anger. "I tried, I tried to make things right and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, lemme stop you right there Gabe." Danny warned.

"Don't call me that."

"Alright, alright I won't. Just calm down. You've got to expect this kind of reaction from people, okay? It's not gonna be a happily ever all the time, in fact it most likely never will."

"Fine."

Danny's eyebrows raised. "Fine? No, I want you to tell me you accept that."

"I-"

"After you take some deep breaths and calm down."

"I'm fine and I accept the fact that people are going to react negatively."

"Nope. Try again. Take some deep breaths."

"No, I'm fine."

Danny chuckled. "I swear, you're just as stubborn as when you were little. Try again."

With a roll of his eyes Gabriel took a few deep breaths and finally calmed down. "Okay. I accept the fact that people will react negatively."

"There we go. Now come on, let's go see Stephanie."

\-----------------------------------------------

"Hey honey blossom." Danny said quietly. "You awake?"

Stephanie smiled. "Yeah, come on in."

"I will, but there's someone who wants to see you. I want you to be ready, okay?"

"I am ready silly, just come in."

"Okay, just stay calm."

He opened the door and he let Gabriel in first before coming in after him.

Stephanie's eyes grew as big as saucers. "You're...you're..."

Gabriel sighed. "It's me."

Her face blanched, then she scowled.

"Look, I'm not here to hurt you or your family again. I'm here...I'm here to apologize. Stephanie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry I hurt your family. I had...I had no excuse or right to kidnap Mandy either. I don't really know w-what else I can say Stephanie. I know you probably won't forgive me, but I'm okay with that." He said quietly.

Stephanie's face softened. "Gabriel..." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm not happy with what you've done, especially recently." She looked up at him. "I might be angry, which is normal, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be unreasonable. I have forgiven you, for what you've done in the past. I did a long time ago. As for now...."

Gabriel gulped.

"As for now, I forgive you. I'm still upset about what you've done, but I don't hate you anymore Gabriel. Hating someone is a waste of time and energy. All I want from you, is assurance that you won't hurt me or my family again, and that you'll get some help."

Danny stepped in. "Don't worry sweetheart, he won't and he is."

She smiled a little. "Good."

\---------------------------------------------------

After saying goodbye to Stephanie, Danny took Gabriel and got the paperwork confirmed and sent him off with his psychiatrist after making sure that he was alright. He met with Jason and Mandy at the car and started driving them home. Jason was quiet, but worried. Mandy was silently fuming.

He sighed. "Mandy, about what happened back there with Gabriel."

"NO!"

"You have every right to be upset but I think that you could have at least been a little bit calmer and not have made a scene."

"Oh I'm sorry, was I EMBARASSING you? DID MY LITTLE SCENE EMBARASS YOU? HUH?"

" _Mandy!_ You watch your mouth!"

"I WILL NOT WATCH MY MOUTH AND I WILL NEVER FORGIVE HIM! NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY I WON'T!"

Danny stopped the car at a light and turned to glare at her. "Now you listen to me and listen good, so help me you speak to me that way again I will pull this car over and spank you and forget about just washing your mouth out."

"Shut up. You are not my father." She grumbled.

Jason sighed. "Lynn please, calm down. Don't get yourself into more trouble than you're already in."

"Don't you 'Lynn' me Jason." She snapped.

His eyebrows shot up. "I'm trying to help you, trying to warn you so you don't get more punishment."

"Did it ever occur to you that I don't want your help?"

"Fine. Suit yourself you persnickety ****** *******. "

Danny clicked his tongue. "Jason."

"Well, she's being rude!"

"And so are you. Swearing at her isn't going to help anything is it?"

"No, but still."

"But still nothing. The only thing it helped was earning you a soaped mouth too."

Jason groaned.

When they got home, Justin and Sam were playing with Billy and Charlie in the living room.

"Hi guys!" Sam greeted them cheerfully.

Justin smiled. "Billy and Charlie didn't cause any trouble by the way."

Danny nodded and sent Jason and Mandy upstairs. He would have washed out their mouths in the kitchen, but since everyone was down here he decided to do it in his room. "Good, thank you."

Charlie waved. "Come play with us!"

"Yeah, please?" Billy begged. "It's boring playing with these two."

Sam gasped. "Boring? Boring? Who you calling boring, huh?" She teased, starting to tickle him.

Billy burst into giggles. "Help me!"

Danny chuckled. "I wish I could, but I've got something to take care of upstairs. After that though, I promise I'll come down and play with you."

Justin and Sam exchanged worried glances as they watched him leave, meanwhile Billy was still giggling from phantom tickles and Charlie had caught his laughter.

\--------------------------------------------------------

Mandy gagged as the soap bar invaded her mouth. She hated the taste of it, and wished that by some miracle her tongue would suddenly go numb. She was still very angry, and she promised herself that she would not apologize. Gabriel's apologies had ripped open old wounds, and she was really hurting right now, but she was more angry than anything. Part of her knew that yes, she probably should have been calmer instead of making a scene and the way she talked to Danny was disrespectful.

He was right, but she refused to admit it. She simply just continued to loathe the soap and gag on it until he was finished. And after what seemed like an eternity, he did and she immediately started rinsing out her mouth.

"Disrespect will not be tolerated in this house. Next time, take time to calm down and then come talk to me about it. If I ask you and you're too upset to talk, then just tell me. Do I make myself clear?" He asked as he cleaned the soap.

She nodded.

He raised an eyebrow, surprised he didn't get an apology.

"I'm not going to apologize, because I'm not going to mean it." Mandy said plainly, then she turned and stalked out of the room.

Danny looked shocked for a moment, then he sighed and shook his head. "Come on Jason, you're up."

Jason groaned again. "Come on, can we skip this? I said I was sorry."

"I know you are. And no, we're not skipping this because swearing isn't gonna be tolerated in this house either. Even if you're annoyed at someone, that doesn't give you the right to swear."

Jason nodded. "Let's just get it over with."

He gagged but didn't whine when the soap entered his mouth. His eyes watered at the awful taste, so he just squeezed them shut and prayed it would be over soon. As the soap lathered up his mouth, he sincerely hoped that it would be over soon. Thankfully, it wasn't as long as he'd expected. He rinsed out his mouth and coughed, hating the still lasting soapy taste.

"I'm sorry I swore Danny." He said sincerely.

Danny put a hand on his shoulder. "Apology accepted. Except it's not really me you need to apologize to, is it?"

"Yeah I know."

\-------------------------------------------------

Mandy stomped out of Danny's room and towards hers, when she bumped into Justin, who'd just come upstairs.

"Watch it!" She snapped. She tried to walk off, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her.

He stared at her with his two different colored eyes, both the green and the blue filled with concern. "What happened at the hospital?" He asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." She huffed.

"You say that, but I know it's a lie."

"How do you know that?" She asked, jerking her arm away from him and going into her room.

He followed. "Because I know you Mandy." He said as he sat on the large windowsill. "What happened over there?"

She shut the door before sitting next to him. "Well...I saw Stephanie and I found out that she had a broken rib that came from fighting for my life, so it's really hard not to blame myself because of that and because everyone else got hurt too."

Justin sighed. "I know it's hard, but you shouldn't blame yourself. It was our choice to fight for you, and each and every one of us would do it again without hesitating."

She nodded and leaned against him, smiling a little as he put his arm around her shoulder. "Then, when I left I bumped into Danny and Gabriel."

"What were they doing there?"

"Well earlier I had mentioned that I was slightly worried about Gabriel because he might hurt himself or do something extremely dangerous for everyone, so Danny rushed off to go check on him while Jason took me to the hospital. So after I bumped into them I asked them why they were there and apparently Gabriel had cut his arm and wrist, trying to commit suicide. I didn't say anything about that, but I thought it was pretty dumb. Oh woe is me! I'm gonna kill myself!" She mocked.

"I'm pretty sure he had a reason for it Mandy." Justin said.

"Whatever. You know what he did next? He apologized!"

"Well what's wrong with that?"

"EVERYTHING! He knows I'll NEVER EVER forgive him so what's the point?!?! And him bringing everything up again just made things worse! It opened all my old wounds and it hurt! So I got really angry and loud and told him to shut up and go away and then I ran off crying." She was tearing up just at recalling the memory. "Then in the car I was still really upset and I yelled and was disrespectful to Danny, so much in fact that he threatened to pull me over and spank me in the car instead of just washing my mouth out."

Justin snorted.

She glared at him.

"Sorry."

"Hmph!"

"Mandy...yelling at Gabriel and Danny didn't help anything, did it?"

She sniffled. "No...but I have a right to be mad."

"You do, but it probably would have been best if you didn't say anything at all."

"Hmph."

"So Danny just washed your mouth out then?"

"Yeah, but I didn't apologize. I'm not sorry."

"Well you should be. I know you were and are hurt, but that doesn't give you the right to be disrespectful."

She scoffed. "You're one to talk."

"I know, I can be rude and such at times I'm not denying that."

"You better not."

"Mandy, stop. I'm trying to talk to you about this, and see if I can help you but if you keep brushing me off and being rude then I don't know why I even bothered in the first place." He snapped.

Mandy burst into tears. "I'm sorry!"

Shocked by her sudden outburst, Justin hugged her.

She held onto him and sobbed into his shirt.

"Oh Mandy, Mandy. Just cry it out, there we go. It's alright, just cry it out. Shh,shh, shh, you're fine, everything's okay."

"I-It's just that he killed my mom and dad, and I miss them s-so much!" She cried. "And then h-he tried to kill me and then he kidnapped me and forced me to b-be like my m-mom!"

He kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry."

"He hit me, and hurt me and yelled at me and I h-hate him for it! I wish he didn't come to the hospital! He brought a-all the bad memories back! And now he's on the loose again! I wish he was dead!" She sobbed.

Justin pried her off of him and gently cupped his hands around her face. "Mandy, don't you ever say something like that again. Don't you dare wish death on anyone. Your parents died, and you almost did. Are you really going to wish that on Gabriel? Hmm?" He asked sternly.

She didn't answer.

"Didn't Danny say that Gabriel had a little mental problem?"

"Uh-huh..."

"And besides that what could be the other reason that he tried to kill himself?"

"M-maybe...um...because...I don't know."

"Come on, think."

"Maybe because he felt bad about everything? I mean...he seemed pretty upset after reading my mom's letter. I had false pity on him then. I was so concerned about getting out that I was willing to do anything, because I knew showing that I hated him wouldn't get me anywhere."

"Are you sure it was all false?"

"No...I guess some of it was real..." She sniffled.

"So you pitied Gabriel, he's got a slight mental issue and felt bad about his crimes. And guess what? You wished death on him."

Mandy's face crumpled and she started crying again as he still held her face.

"Listen to me. Don't ever say that you wish someone was dead again, alright?"

She nodded.

"Now come here."

He pulled her into another hug and held her for a long time, whispering soothing things to her and trying to get her to calm down.

When she finally did, he let go of her and said, "The next time you see him, you need to apologize for the way you reacted."

"But-"

"I'm not saying you have to forgive him, you just have to apologize."

She nodded. "I guess so."

"And?"

"And I guess I should go and apologize to Danny too, huh?"

"Yep."

She sighed. "Sometimes I really wonder how you put up with me and all my crap."

He chuckled and kissed her lips lightly. "The same way you put up with me and mine."

\-----------------------------------------------------

Mandy knocked on Danny's door, after Justin had left and Jason had come in to apologize and she'd forgiven him. She hoped Danny wouldn't be too mad at her, but if he was she knew he deserved it.

"Come in!"

She walked inside slowly, carefully shutting the door behind her.

Danny sat at his desk, typing away on his laptop. He turned to her and looked at her expectantly. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry I yelled and was disrespectful, and I'm sorry for overreacting the way I did at the hospital." She mumbled.

He nodded. "Alright, thank you. I accept your apology."

"Are you still mad at me?" She asked quietly.

He sighed. "No. I was disappointed, but not anymore."

She went over and hugged him. "It's just...he brought all that stuff back up and-"

He kissed her temple. "I know, I know. Let's not talk about it anymore. Go play outside or something." He said, playfully shoving her away.

She giggled. "Play? I'm fifteen, I don't play anymore."

"Well fine then, hang out, chill, or whatever word you prefer. Sam's missed you, so I think you should go spend some time with her."

"Okay!"

\----------------------------------------------------

Sam and Mandy chased each other across the lake's shore in their swim suits, laughing and squealing. Suddenly, Sam turned on the spot and ran for one of the nearest docs, ran across it and jumped into the water.

"Sam!"

"What? The water's great and it's really hot today! Come on!"

Mandy shrugged and ran across the doc and jumped into the water cannonball style, groaning as she resurfaced.

Sam giggled. "Cannonballs are the worst! It's like getting spanked by the water!"

Both girls found this hysterically funny.

"I'm so glad all this stuff with Gabriel is over." Mandy said. "Now I can fully relax and enjoy the summer."

"Which is almost over." Sam added.

"What?!?"

"Yeah, there's only a week left before school starts."

"Aw man!"

"What, don't you like school?"

"Not at all."

"Me either, but it gives me something to do. Besides, it won't be that bad! It's still the same school you went to, isn't it?"

"West Bridge high school, yeah."

"See? It won't be so bad! Jason, Justin and I all go there!"

Mandy grinned. "And so does Emily!"

"I told you! And once school starts I can introduce you to all my other friends!"

"Awesome! That sounds great! I just hope we end up in the same classes."

"Me too. What I really hope though, is that we don't get Miss Walsh for math this year."

"Ugh, Miss Walsh. Seriously, it should be against school rules to have a teacher that strict."

"Amen to that! I mean I'm awful at math, and having a super strict teacher certainly doesn't help matters."

"Well enough about school. Let's just enjoy what little summer we have left."

Sam splashed her.

"Hey!"

"You did say to enjoy it!"

"I am so getting you back for that!" Mandy splashed her back.

Half an hour later, the two girls lay out on the doc, exhausted from swimming, splashing and diving.

Mandy yawned. "I can't believe so much has happened in about a month."

"I know right? And I know you said enough about school, but since Stephanie's in the hospital Danny's going to be the one who's taking us back to school shopping."

"Oh, okay. How is he when he helps with homework?"

Sam hesitated. "He's fine about it most of the time, but he usually doesn't tolerate nonsense. We all study hard so we can get good grades."

"How good of grades do we have to get?"

"A B- or higher."

"Oh wow. What about C's?"

"Well C's, C-'s, and C+'s, they're okay with it but they say that you can do better and to try harder next time. They're not upset about it when that happens unless they know you've been slacking off and even then their not even upset, just disappointed and kind of give you this look that says you'd better get back to work."

"Ah, and I suppose lower than a C earns you a spanking?"

"Not all the time actually. It depends on the situation."

"What do you mean?"

"Well if everyone else in the class failed too, then it's fine and they just tell you to keep going and work harder in the next chapter. If you did your very best and studied hard but you still failed, then they'll take away privileges, but not because they're mad. They just want you to spend more time studying. Lastly, if you failed or got lower than a C because you didn't study or work then yeah you'll get spanked."

"Ugh, can we PLEASE stop talking about school?"

Sam grinned.

"You're making me dread it even more."

Sam giggled.

Mandy rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

"Hey, what time is it?"

"Uh, I don't know but the sun is starting to set."

"We should probably head back then, I think it's almost supper time."

"What's the rush?" Mandy asked as they grabbed their towels and put on their shorts. "You know Danny isn't as good a cook as Stephanie."

Sam smiled eagerly. "I know, but this is Friday night! We might order pizza!"

"Pizza! Woo!"

"Come on! Race you!"

"Hey wait! I wasn't ready! Sam!"

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

That night they did have pizza, and they even stayed up late and had a movie marathon just for the fun of it. The week flew by quickly for everyone. Danny took the kids back to school shopping, and even though it was different since they usually did that with Stephanie, it was still enjoyable. The last day of summer would be here soon, and in preparation everyone had planned out a big fun day, an end of the summer party of sorts.

They were going to go to the fair that was in town in the morning, then they'd go to catch one of the new movies in the theater in the afternoon, get gelato afterwards, and finally they'd go to the really popular museum in the evening and get some supper at a nice restaurant after that before heading home. They usually didn't do thinks like this, but it was nice to do every other end of summer. And while that was going on, Gabriel had started staying with his psychiatrist. He was assigned to stay with him for a month, and after that month was up Gabriel still planned on turning himself in to the police. He'd just arrived, and he'd had a talk and confirmed a few things such as his schedule, and verifying that he had everything that he needed.

So, it was off to a great start for him at his new home for the next month. It would be hard no doubt, but he was willing to do it, not only for the late Anastasia, and Stephanie who'd asked him to get help, but also for himself. He wanted a happy life, not one where he was doing anything and everything to avoid his sadness and emptiness. It wasn't going to be easy, and he would slip up sometimes yes, but he was willing to get back up and keep going.

Willing to get back up and keep going on the road to recovery.


	20. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue of Evan's House for Everyone. Thank you for reading.

In the town of Elmhurst in the state of Illinois, there was a little neighborhood called CrystalWood. Just outside of it was a shopping centre, full of shops so you could get what you needed. It had a few clothing stores, a market, a hardware store, one restaurant, a drug/convenience store, a home depot, and an electronic store as well. It didn't have a lot, but it had what you needed. If you wanted to go to the mall for better clothes and other stores, you'd have to go over to chicago, which wasn't very far at all.

However, the things outside didn't matter. What was inside CrystalWood Neighborhood, did. Inside, cozily built between two other houses, was a very special home. A Group Home to be exact. The Group Home called Evan's House for Everyone. Danny and Stephanie Evans lived there with Jason, Justin, Mandy, Sam, Billy and Charlie. A very intense but fun summer had just ended, and now everyone was off to work and school. 

Danny went back to his job at the back, and Stephanie back to hers at the bakery. Jason was now in 12th grade, and worked hard to keep his grades up. Mandy and Sam went to 10th, Justin to 8th, and Billy and Charlie to 1st grade. As the school year went on, there were a lot of challenges and things that everyone faced. Mandy had to deal with bullies being mean to her for not having parents anymore, but even though it was hard she made it through. Sam had trouble in P.E. class with the coach, and even though she did get consequences it worked out in the end.

Justin was also bullied for his disfigured skin, scars, bumps, cuts, and two different colored eyes. He almost went back into his shell and hid himself from everyone again because of that, but Mandy stopped him before he could. The two of them were boyfriend and girlfriend now, and they wouldn't have it any other way. Sure, they had their fights but even if they were mad at each other they would still be there ready to help one another at a moment's notice.

Jason found himself a girlfriend, who's name was Dayana, a very pretty one at that. She had shoulder length black hair, glasses, brown eyes, a curvy figure, a sweet attitude towards everyone, and to top it all off she had the cutest Spanish accent and was still learning English. Even though people may have thought that the language barrier would have been tough, it wasn't. Jason had taken Spanish for the past two semesters, this one being his last before college, and Dayana had taken English. They helped each other with homework, and practiced with each other a lot so the language wasn't a problem.

Mandy was extremely jealous at first, and she didn't like Dayana at all because she got ALL her older brother's attention. Eventually though, after she'd made it clear to him, he realized he'd been ignoring her and made up with her. Mandy even became friends with Dayana too. Speaking of friends, Stephanie often went with Mandy to visit Monica every other weekend. The two women got along well and Monica even came over for dinner a few times.

Billy and Charlie got into fights at school, got lost a couple times, but despite the trouble they caused they still worked hard with Danny and/or Stephanie every night on their homework and over time became even more lovely and slightly more mature children. Danny worked on and on at the bank, and every day he looked forward to coming home. He loved his family more than anything in the world. Families require love, not DNA he liked to say. And right now, there couldn't be a truer statement.

Evans House for Everyone went on for years, and he and his wife watched every one of them grow up.

Jason went off to college and got a business degree, often visiting home for christmas and summer vacation. And just after finishing college he got his master's degree and proposed to his girlfriend Dayana. They got married and had a baby girl named Rosalinda, then moved to Chicago. Jason, Dayana and Mandy still kept in very good touch over the years though, and grew closer together.

Mandy blossomed in her late teens and had gone off to college since she was nineteen now. With every year she'd gotten more and more beautiful, and had become a lot more mature. She loved everyone and everything more than she had before and even though she was older, she was still the same sassy, short tempered, but otherwise lovely girl that had arrived here four years ago, collapsed on the porch. She studied creative writing and so far was doing very well in her freshman year. She even did so well that she won an award in a writing competition the college decided to have.

Emily, who was the same age as Mandy, was surprisingly roommates with her! They joined the same clubs, shared almost all the same classes, and had a wonderful time together. Emily got a boyfriend, unsurprisingly to Mandy. His name was Ricardo and he had dark skin, big muscles, and he was really good at basketball and grammar. He was a fun guy, got along with everyone and was friends with Mandy as well. While Mandy and Emily did fight, they continued to be best friends. Emily had decided to study law and business, hoping to become a lawyer someday. It was hard, not the easiest thing to study. She did it though, she pulled through like she always did.

Sam, also nineteen, didn't get a boyfriend in college. She liked being single, and focused more on her studies and her friends. She joined a club and made lots of new friends there who helped her adjust to being in college and to figure out where everything was. The campus was huge after all, and one could easily get lost there. She had surprised her family with the major she chose, simply because she'd never really said anything about it before. Sam had started to study psychology, and wasn't sure whether she'd change the major, or keep studying it. Even so, she knew that she would end up having a good time, graduating, and getting a job in the future.

Justin was seventeen and was going to go to college soon, but he had no idea what to study yet. He missed Mandy a lot, but he still chatted with her a lot through texts, phone calls, face time, and skype. He'd gotten a lot more mature, and had forgiven his biological parents for what they had done to him in the past. With help from Mandy, and later Danny and Stephanie, he had become completely comfortable with what he looked like. He wore short sleeved shirts, shorts, and tank tops out in public, not caring if people stared or thought he looked weird or ugly. He didn't keep his hair in front of his eye anymore, and he didn't care what other people thought of him.

Billy and Charlie were now ten years old. They had developed their own unique style and hobbies and had a lot of friends at school. Billy liked monster trucks, wrestling, video games, and wasn't a picky eater anymore. Charlie liked Barbie dolls, painting her nails, anything pink, and watching my little pony with her friends. They were still quite rambunctious though, because some things never change.

And that was the recent future of the original members of Evan's House for Everyone, but let's take a look at the far future, shall we?

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All these things though were only what happened in the first few years. Time went on, and with that Danny and Stephanie were quite old now, and needed to give the group home to someone to it would continue on. In the end, the final end, here's what happened. Danny and Stephanie went  to a nursing home, but they were still happy and healthy elderly people, and all the people they'd raised often came to visit them. Evan's House for Everyone, ended up being handed over and accepted by Mandy and Justin! All of the boys in the house had taken Evan's as their last name, so that way the name could still live on, and the girls would only get Evan's as their last name if they married one of the boys, which Mandy did.

Mandy had become a successful author, and Justin had become a computer engineer. In addition to their jobs, they had a baby together. A beautiful baby boy that they named Nathan Daniel Evans, and after raising him in the house for a few years until he was four, they accepted five others into their group home and continued what Danny and Stephanie had started. Gabriel had finished with his psychiatrist and had finally served out his sentence in jail. Mandy had forgiven him and had come to visit him after she'd graduated from college, and now that he was out of jail he had no desire for crimes of any kind.

In fact, he was paid by Mandy and Justin when they were too busy to be there and he watched the kids. He was an adopted Uncle according to them, he loved them and they loved him. When he wasn't watching the kids, he got a simple job at the market as a cashier, not really looking for something big and exciting but rather something calm and easy. He found Monica again, apologized to her and found that she'd forgiven him too. They even started a relationship, but this one stayed and Gabriel was never crazy or abusive ever again.

Jason and his wife Dayana had another child, this one was a boy who they named James Luis. They visited home as often as they could, but it was difficult as the years went on. Jason started his own company, and Dayana became a chef at a restaurant when the kids were old enough to be left alone with a babysitter. Sam turned out to be a very successful psychologist, and was known world wide. Emily became a successful lawyer, and soon enough was the one of the most popular lawyers around. Billy and Charlie went to college, Billy studying art, and Charlie studying education.

And so, that was the far future of the original members of Evan's House for Everyone. The house itself, went on for years and years after that, bringing safety, love, peace, and a family to whoever was staying there next. After all, family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who _want you_  in theirs. It's the ones who _accept you_   for who you are.  It's the ones who would do _anything_   to see you smile,  and _love you no matter what._

_Whether by blood or not, that's what family is._


End file.
